Sound of Metal

“Like, what does it matter? What does it matter? It just passes. Yo. If I disappear, like, who cares? Nobody cares, man. Seriously. Yo, and that's okay. That's life. That's life. No, for real. Okay? It just passes.”

Filmology Rating: 3.5 out of 4

Sound of Metal is a film that got plenty of attention from its premiere at Toronto and is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

Ruben (Riz Ahmed), a heavy metal drummer, must deal with ever-changing circumstances as he loses his ability to hear.

I was curious to see this film for a few months now because it had been getting rave reviews from everyone. So the bar was high for me, which I really don't enjoy that high expectations feeling because it can sometimes ruin films.

So you look at the cover and you see drums. I kept saying to myself, "this isn't 'Whiplash.' This isn't 'Whiplash.'" And it isn't, for better and worse. The title actually sounds like a Mad Magazine title for 'The Sound of Music.' So I had no idea what this film was about.

I was pleasantly surprised, but slightly let down as this was not some brilliant, tour de force as I heard it was. It was a good film that I had no trouble watching. It grew on me as it went, but it's the kind of film you really have to read into to get anything from it because the film is not on the surface level.

I actually found many similarities to 'Soul' in that a musician goes through extreme circumstances that changes his world view. 'Soul' is obviously more giddy and warm-hearted, while 'Sound of Metal' is more melancholic and bitter sweet.

This film is Riz Ahmed though -- who I've just known as a bit-part actor for smaller roles. So this film does a great job at displaying his range as an actor.

However, the co-star of this film is the sound design because this is a film where the protagonist is deaf. So how does one put the audience into the auditory shoes of a deaf person? The result is like when you have water in your ears and there's like this echo in your head. It's quite the impressive sound design.

Near the end of the film, I found it to level out a bit unfortunately. We do get some final revelations near the end when Ruben discovers some things about himself and others around him, but the entire film is mostly watching him come to terms with being deaf and the struggles that has on his life as he's able to find the beauty of the world when all noise is eliminated.

A frustrating part of the film was not only the lack of trajectory, but also how sign language was used. There are no subtitles for the sign language parts, which was frustrating at times. I understand you're supposed to see the narrative from Ruben and experience his frustration with not understanding others, but sign language does take up a large chunk of the film.

I found 'Sound of Metal' to be a good film with plenty to read into between the lines, but it wasn't the riveting drama I expected it to be.

Rating: See It

-Nolan