Sound of Metal

Released 20th November 2020, Sound of Metal follows heavy metal drummer Ruben Stone as he comes to terms with becoming deaf. One of the strongest aspects of the film is the way that it is edited (yes, it deserved its Oscar); in its portrayal of regular life and deaf life through the film, it frequently cuts appropriately in time with the sound (more on that later). This makes it easy for a general audience to follow and sympathise with Stone through his journey of tranquillity, rage, love and desperation. The editing works as successfully as it does by utilising close-up shots which focus on entities that create sounds, some notable examples of this are coffee jugs, a bell tower and a blender. Besides this, the film is shot in a naturalistic manner with standard lighting and simple sets.

Stone himself is emotionally portrayed by Riz Ahmed who manages to give a strong vocalisation to Stone despite the eventual hardships that brings later in the narrative. However, it is Ahmed’s facial expressions and physical outbursts that carry the film as we a offered a sophisticated insight into this person who has to overcome great challenges. Much like Stone, Ahmed is supported by the rest of the cast who all manage to deliver fantastic performances. Stone’s most intimate connection is in the form of Olivia Cooke’s Lou; Lou is Stone’s girlfriend in the narrative where there is an emphasis on her deeply troubled past. While the third act arguably focusses a bit too heavily on her, she is definitely a fleshed out character who herself is aided by Mathieu Amalric as her estranged yet caring father Richard. Paul Raci delivers the strongest supporting performance as Joe, the leader of a deaf community who take Stone in. He is able to imbue Joe with strong empathy towards Stone and a consolidation of his physical and mannerisms.

However, the strongest aspect of the film (bar-none) is its use of sound across the film. While it opts not to have a traditional soundtrack, scenes that utilise music do so with diegetic drumming from Stone or other pieces of music being played by the characters. As previously stated, the editing places an emphasis on the different soundscapes between ‘normal’ people and deaf people. In this case the lack of traditional soundtrack enables the audience to register the appropriate soundscapes and appreciate the way that deaf people interact with their environments and different perspectives they have access to. Overall, astounding film and sound editing carry a film with already strong performances to deliver a poignant story of disability and the balance of shortcomings and perspectives brought on by being deaf.