2020 In Review: Sound of Metal
Thank you, I’m here all week.
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The opening eight minutes of Sound of Metal is nothing but pure and insufferable white noise, the epicenter of the relentlessly loud and deafening intro being heavy metal band Blackgammon, hosted by guitarist and lead singer Lou (Olivia Cooke) and drummer Ruben (Riz Ahmed), the power couple of heavy metal and light rebellion. What comes with Ruben's sudden loss of hearing leads to the most unpredictable film of 2020: A movie you thought was about a boisterous metal band, but is actually a stunning portrait of the deaf community.
Ruben's struggle with being deaf becomes a much larger metaphor for being sober in every sense of the word. He struggles with addiction to using drugs just as much as he aches to hear again, reminding us that writer-director Marder is consistently cleverly re-routing his story to a believable path, which ends up being more poignant than it is preachy. And while Olivia Cooke gives a performance just as heartbreaking as the unconditional support her character gives to Ruben, it is Riz Ahmed, through Ruben's utter defiance, which champions him as legitimately one of the flat-out best actors of 2020.
Most of the film's runtime takes place in a humbling facility where Ruben learns the value of silence. Displaying endless scenes of classroom teachings on sign language, and depicting poignant mentor discussions on quiet appreciation, Marder could easily have taken a corny opportunity to trade the significance of the deaf community in exchange for a Hallmark crutch in Ruben learning some valuable lesson, but Marder is far more interested in exploring Ruben's stubborn rebellion against his teachings, and his inability to see being deaf as a gift rather than as a handicap.
*10 points to Riz
Grade: A
