I watched 'Sound of Metal' and you should too!

Lou and Ruben are in love. Lou and Ruben are hippies on a world tour. Lou is the lead singer and Ruben is the drummer of their two-membered metal band. There is just a slight problem: Ruben is losing his hearing and he is losing it fast. Unlike many movies, ‘Sound of Metal changes its mood pretty early in its runtime. From there, the movie catches on an odd and unusual pace, not very comforting and definitely moving. I watched ''Sound of Metal'' and you should too!

Directed by Darius Marder, ‘Sound of Metal’ follows the story of a metal band drummer who loses his hearing due to his constant exposure to loud metal music. Unable to believe his fate, he initially tries to fight it by hiding it from his girlfriend and then, acting all cool about it. But the truth is scary and both of the young souls don’t know the first thing on how to deal with it. The fear shows in Lou’s eyes and Ruben’s I-am-too-cool-to-care attitude. The sheer helplessness that comes across in the first 30 minutes is difficult to forget. Ruben’s constant efforts to find a  ‘way out of the menace, Lou’s inability to understand how to communicate to a deaf man, their pen and paper conversations all make it too much. Helpless to see the drummer who is also her boyfriend in such a helpless state, Lou does the only sane thing possible for her: get him some help. So, they drive to rehab and Lou gets him to meet the man who runs that place: a deaf man in his early sixties, perhaps in the hope he might assist Ruben in getting adjusted to his new existence: without sound. 

Best Sound Experience

The best aspect of this movie other than the fact that about half of the movie is in sign language is the sound effects that have been used. One of the reasons the movie feels uncomfortable is because they don't play the sound as a normal man would hear it. Initially, the sounds in the movie are as Ruben hears them: muffled, distant and overlapping, often with tinnitus in his ears. Often, the film is played in a muted mode. The shrillness of silence hits you hard and makes you wonder how Ruben will adjust

to this new life of his. Being a musician personally, I cannot fathom what great lengths of suffocation and agitation I might feel if I wake up and can’t hear anymore one day. Shall I ever adapt myself to the world of the deaf, I don't know. So, watching a drummer lose his hearing, watching him not able to hear any beat is heart-wrenching as it is. No wonder, they won an Oscar for Best Sound Mixing. The different sets of perceived hearing that they use in the movie are all very distinct and scary, with the best in my opinion being the sound of the metallic piece in his brain(watch the movie, you’ll know).

Stellar Performances

From start to finish, 'Sound of Metal' has a beautiful curve that talks of rehabilitation, recovery and acceptance of fate and maybe, turn it into something useful. From Ruben saying ‘You’re it for me. You’re my fucking heart’ to ‘It's okay, Lou. You saved my life.’, is a journey of Ruben’s gains and losses and I don't think anybody can watch him without a tear. Riz Ahmed deserves the Academy nomination he received; his acting is flawless. I hear he learnt drumming for 6 months before he got into shooting the film. Ruben is not only a deaf drummer but through the course of the film, he also learns sign language to communicate with the mates he meets in the community and teaches drum to the deaf kids. The idea of perceiving deafness as a disability is not allowed in the community that is managed by Joe, brilliantly played by Paul Raci(An American character actor) who also received an Academy nomination for his performance in the movie. Joe is seasoned and the epitome of acceptance of fate. He knows he cannot do anything to change his state. So, he has gotten past it and tries to show similar people how this is not necessarily a shortcoming. Ruben is a difficult case for him, indeed but he knows how to tame a wildcat! A man of principle and ethics, the thing I like about Joe is his unwillingness to yield to anyone.

Lou is a sweetheart, really! I watched Olivia Cooke as Emma in Bates Motel and now, here. She is the lead singer in a metal band and yet, her persona is demure and stealthy. She has her roots in French music and her eyebrows are bleached which makes her look brow-less sometimes by the way. She and Ruben are together but they are also both young and still unknown to the many ploys of life. Will their love suffice or will they just stay as beautiful memories in each other’s head is something you'll have to watch to find out.

Themes and Takeaways

Life is not fair(read here for more) and it can take it out on you in ways you have never imagined. We think our problems are the worst. We think we’d die of a broken heart. Try being a drummer who’s lost his hearing or better, try being his girlfriend. Watch the man you love slowly fade away into oblivion. Watch him as he can’t hear you anymore, can’t hear your soft whisper in his ear, can’t hear the beautiful melody you’ve composed for her. And then,

It teaches how what we think can make us happy might not always make us happy. Ruben thinks of deafness as a problem that needs to be fixed. However, when he eventually fixes himself, he realizes no broken pot can be fixed in a way that it doesn't look broken anymore. You can fix things, you can’t make them return to their original form without leaving a mark. So, the best one can do is embrace the mark and learn to live with it.

I would highly recommend it. It's available on Amazon Prime. Go, watch it today.

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