SOUND OF METAL
The Riz Ahmed awards fave snares a cinema release.
Sound design is perhaps an under-celebrated tool in the filmmaker’s arsenal. The feature debut from writer-director Darius Marder is sure to be up for every sound-design award going, but it deserves more. Marder also wrote the screenplay, which emerged from the remnants of a never-realised fact/fiction blend by Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine).
Riz Ahmed leads as drummer Ruben Stone, who is on the road with bandmate and partner Lou (Olivia Cooke) when he develops sudden hearing loss. He winds up checking into a home for deaf addicts run by veteran Joe (Paul Raci), who helps his charges adjust to a new way of living.
On a visceral level, the immersive sound design adds to an uncannily engaging, intimate experience. Entirely captioned, Sound Of Metal makes you feel Ruben’s disorientation. It never patronises or lectures, and there’s something remarkably intimate about
how Ruben’s relationships develop as he grasps sign language. Electric in the lead, Ahmed inhabits the role like a second skin. Cooke is also terrific, but the MVP of the supports is Raci, a child of deaf adults who also plays in an ASL metal band.
As Marder builds the story to a somewhat surprising third act, the cumulative effect is both powerful and profound. And despite its tight focus and character work, it rewards being seen on the big screen. A small film that hits big, Sound Of Metal is a gem to bang the drum for. Matt Maytum