by Conan Simmons – December 5, 2020 – 6:58 am
In a normal year ‘Sound of Metal’ would be one of the small movie-that-could type of awards contender that does well at art-house theaters. It is a drama that is very well done and will definitely be present at the delayed Academy Awards this coming April.
Riz Ahmed (‘Venom’) plays Rubin, a drummer in a heavy metal band with his girlfriend-singer Lou, played by Olivia Cooke (‘Ready Player One’). Living together in a RV wherever they can park it, they travel around the country constantly on tour. One day while setting up merchandise at a record store Rubin suddenly loses his hearing. Going through the frustration of trying to keep his problem to himself Lou quickly finds out after his hearing affects their next concert. Both being former drug addicts, Lou’s love for him is the catalyst he needs to enter a rehab for the deaf where he must confront accepting himself as he tries to find a way to cure his hearing loss.
Riz Ahmed gives a career best performance as he conveys most of Rubin’s frustrations through body language, always simmering with attitude and at times seemingly on the cusp of violence. His performance is aided by the script, written by Darius Marder along with Abraham Marder and Derek Cianfrance, which is void of any sappy dialogue that usually pops up into movies of this nature.
The real star of the film is the sound. The sound, over the course of the entire film, places the audience in Rubin’s realm. Synchronizing the sound mix with Ahmed’s performance makes the audience feel Rubin’s frustrations as his hearing deteriorates. An early scene of Rubin not being able to hear inside his RV illustrates perfectly how even the audience took the sounds from before his hearing loss for granted. A scene involving a sign language conversation at the dinner table is used to “show” the difference between what the conversation sounds like to the participants with what it sounds like without impairment. The scene that is going to send ‘Sound of Metal’ on to win the Oscar for Best Sound involves Rubin visiting an audiologist, played by Rena Maliszewski. Never has sound been the primary driving force of any movie as it is in ‘Sound of Metal’.
Darius Marder’s directing keeps everything on track smartly using sound to enhance each scene without over-relying on it to tell the story for him. Never going for stylish flourishes Marder stays strictly with substance in each shot.
The movie is perfectly cast with a standout performance by Paul Raci, a real life musician in an American Sign Language rock band. Raci plays Joe, the supervisor of the rehab center for the deaf. The realism he brings to the character is the perfect anchor to counter Rubin’s self-involved attitude. Likewise with Lauren Ridloff, a former Miss Deaf America, who plays Diane, a schoolteacher for deaf children who teaches Rubin sign language which helps him adjust to his new environment.
Mathieu Amalric (‘Quantum of Solace’) plays Lou’s rich, French father whom Rubin considers getting a loan from to pay for his desired surgery. Even when this story thread emerges Marder’s directing and script prevent it from crossing over into melodrama. Realism at all times is the mantra of this film.
Olivia Cooke is a vastly underappreciated actress but that may change with ‘Sound of Metal’. Cooke is emerging as a contender for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. After the film’s sound and Ahmed’s breakout performance, Cooke very well could get that nomination. Her portrayal of Lou as a former drug addict with masochistic undertones whose love for Rubin keeps her, and him, from going over the edge is just as transformative as Ahmed’s role. Olivia Cooke will face some heavy competition for that award category this year most likely going up against Glenn Close (‘Hillbilly Elegy’), Amanda Seyfried (‘Mank’) and Maria Bakalova (‘Borat’).
‘Sound of Metal’ is currently available on Amazon Prime. Keep a lookout for it at the Academy Awards.