Sound of Metal
You may have read on this blog that I am an audiologist, a medical professional who performs diagnostic evaluations and provides solutions for hearing impairment. When I saw the trailers for this film, of course my interest was piqued. Had this film just been another drama without this subject matter I likely would've have skipped it. Which would have been my loss, as again I have to single out Ahmed's acting. His progression from confusion to rage to sorrow to resignation to acceptance to peaceful acknowledgement is impressive and entirely believable. Elevating a movie that, sorry Darius, too often felt like indie-lite for my taste. Part of that issue is the unimaginative artistic choices throughout, though there is one big exception.
The sound design. Incredible. Watch this film with headphones if you can. Talk about immersive. You are right there with Ruben as his cochlea is dying. The high frequencies engulfed and obliterated in a wall of low frequency muffle to the point where one feels as if underwater. It is uncomfortable, even nauseating. I've had patients in this situation relay these very thoughts. Besides the acting this is SOUND OF METAL's greatest asset, and kudos to Nicolas Becker and Yanna Soentjens for their work. It completes the empathy we feel for Ruben and doesn't allow us (most of the time) the comfort of merely observing his suffering; we're sharing it.
The story follows a familiar arc as Ruben' career as a musician crashes, his girlfriend/co-band member Lou (Olivia Cooke) leaves, and he begins to learn how to cope by joining a recovery group for deaf drug addicts. We learn that Ruben had struggled with heroin, and it's suggested that this caused the auto-immune response that shut down his hearing, even though he had been clean for four years.
I was cringing a bit during the scene with the audiologist: how he tested, his explanation. Is it that hard for filmmakers to hire a consultant? I have had similar moments when audiology was broached on episodes of House and E.R. The producers (of which 10 + are credited) could've even polled a grad student for some fact checking. But they probably correctly surmised that most viewers wouldn't know or care of such errors. I can get past some inaccuracies. I just wish there had been a more in depth examination of the early stages of hearing loss, before Ruben headed to that recovery group, led by a guy named Joe (Paul Raci, quite good).
Once Ruben goes through with cochlear implantation (more excellent sound design), further drama unfolds that I'll leave for you to discover. I found it believable and largely free of cliche, that very last scene notwithstanding.
Another possible gripe from this Au.D. is the film's unabashed partisanship for Deaf Culture. The debate has been hot for years. This culture is very proud, and feels their handicap is not such, but part of their identity. In one rather symbolic scene, Joe chastises Ruben for his repairs of an eave on a house. "Nothing around here needs fixing!" This always makes for a lively discussion, especially regarding children in the prelingual stage.
SOUND OF METAL, whose title has at least three meanings I can derive, may not be great filmmaking, but it is earnest and attention grabbing. And Ahmed rises above any dramatic deficiencies. It is a career defining performance.
Comments