Sound of Metal (2020) Review

Sound of Metal (2020)

Sound of Metal follows Ruben, a drummer who goes deaf and must adjust to life without being able to hear.

This one really diverted expectations, as I figured it would just be about a man’s journey towards playing music again, but it was so much more. It’s all built up well, getting us used to the sounds around Ruben and the little things we take for granted. Upon losing his hearing, we also get glimpses into his life without sound, with muffled bangs, white noise, and the perpetual ringing that is felt. It uses this to better relate us to how he feels just before jolting us back to reality, often turning the sound on like a switch and showing the world as it really is.

The whole film builds to him getting cochlear implants to help him hear again and reunite with Lou, but it’s the redirection towards the themes of deafness not being something to fix that become the heart of the movie. As much as he wants his life back, he learns to live, communicate, and be happy without it. The harsh reality of the implants is also done so well, as they don’t ever come off as a fix or blessing, but an annoyance because it doesn’t bring back hearing.

The cast, however small, is effective, including Paul Raci, Olivia Cooke, and Riz Ahmed. Ahmed is great, convincingly conveying the emotion and physical presence of a musician and human who loses the ability to hear.

Sound of Metal is an honest and accurate look into the lives of deaf people, and the challenges they face, while also telling a heartfelt story of a mans challenge towards accepting it. It builds on Joe’s teachings of finding the peace without sound, ending with an overwhelmed Ruben rejecting the constant annoyance of sound and finding the peace in the silence, in an extremely satisfying conclusion to an effective and profound movie.

8.2/10