Innovative sound design, strong performances and onscreen representation of the Deaf community contribute to the nuanced emotional stakes of writer-director Darius Marder’s feature debut, Sound of Metal. The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and crept into the limelight of this year’s awards season.
Sound of Metal follows heavy metal drummer and recovering addict Ruben (Riz Ahmed), who loses his hearing almost overnight and reluctantly joins a rehabilitation program for members of the Deaf community run by Joe (Paul Raci), a late-deafened Vietnamese war veteran and recovering alcoholic. Joe emphasizes that his program and the larger Deaf community around them share in the belief that Deafness is an identity, not something to be “fixed.” He also requires Ruben to disconnect completely from the outside world, meaning Ruben must leave behind his girlfriend and bandmate, Lou (Olivia Cooke), who has been his lifeline through his four years of sobriety. Under Joe’s guidance, Ruben discovers an independent strength within himself as he learns American Sign Language (ASL) at a nearby school for the Deaf, finds a sense of community, and works on self-healing. A restless soul, however, Ruben is unable to find the stillness that Joe considers essential, leading to a choice that results in a crushing conversation which alters Ruben’s path through the remainder of the film.
While the wider hearing community will never truly grasp what it’s like to go through the process of losing one’s hearing, Marder and sound designer Nicolas Becker create an effective and immersive sound experience that places us inside Ruben’s subjective perspective to gain some understanding. Camerawork and visual aesthetics, often at the forefront of cinema, instead follow the lead of the film’s grounded auditory focus. The best way to watch Sound of Metal is in a quiet space where external noise won’t conflict with the film’s subtle sound details and shifting volumes. At the same time, the film is careful to show that Deaf does not necessarily mean silence. For Ruben, rediscovering his connection to music by hand-drumming on a metal slide is a turning point in his journey of adapting to his hearing loss. Soon, Ruben is actively engaging with the community, gaining confidence in his ASL skills, and leading kids in a drumming session at school.
Ahmed gives an understated, compelling performance that largely focuses on nuanced emotion and consequence rather than the inflated, performative emotion typical in many “Oscar bait” films about life-changing experiences. To prepare for the role, the star of Nightcrawler and The Night Of spent seven months learning ASL with coach Jeremy Lee Stone, meeting with members of the Deaf community, and learning about Deaf culture. He also learned how to drum. Ahmed has received praise for his performance and integrated approach, but others criticize the choice to cast a hearing person in a lead role largely centred around hearing loss, and cite the need for representation in primary roles both in front of and behind the camera.
While better representation is long overdue in the entertainment industry as a whole, Sound of Metal makes significant headway—a testament to the active involvement of the film’s many Deaf actors and community members. In Sound of Metal, aside from Ahmed’s character, Deaf actors and community members play Deaf characters, bringing authentic details of their culture and community to the film. Raci, although not Deaf, is a Child of Deaf Adults (CODA) and part of the Deaf community. Marder relied on active input and feedback from his Deaf actors; Stone, for one, wore a number of hats throughout production, serving as ASL coach, onscreen actor, and primary consultant.
Marder also ensured the film is presented entirely in open captioning. He strongly believes this should be the case for all films, as it enables Deaf and hearing audiences to come together to watch films in a shared viewing experience. His belief stems in part from his cinephile grandmother’s activism; she lost her hearing later in life and campaigned for open captioning. Now Marder is taking up the mantle in an effort to bridge the divide between the hearing and Deaf communities in society as well as the entertainment industry.
Sound of Metal is nominated for six Oscars, including Best Sound and a Best Actor nomination for Riz Ahmed, the first Muslim nominee in that category.
Score: B+