Sound Of Metal is a drama about drummer/recovering heroin addict Ruben(Riz Ahmed) who goes deaf while on tour with his bandmate/girlfriend Lou(Olivia Cooke). Lou contacts Ruben's sponsor who sets him up with a spot at a facility for deaf recovering addicts run by Joe(Paul Raci).
Ahmed certainly gives a lot of energy and focus to his performance and in the 2nd act this pays off big with his time learning/accepting his deafness and relating to his new community. He fairs less well in the beginning and end when focus is given to the over-wrought co-dependent relationship with Lou which comes across more as melodrama than compelling character study. Cooke also suffers from, presumably, the pretensions of the script in this regard. She's a fine actor but neither her nor Ahmed can rise above the quagmire of circuitous immature relationships fumblings the script lays out. Raci is wonderful, transcendent even. And the heart of the film, the really gas of it, is Ruben's time at the facility working with Joe and the other deaf participants(many played by deaf actors). That is where the real growth and humanity lies in the film and it's incredibly moving, authentic, and hopeful.
Filmed in a couple limited locations with a fair amount of shakey handheld camera work it successfully submerses the viewer into Ruben's POV. The occasional pounding metal score as well as the audio track, conveying Ruben's loss of hearing, are both very effective as well as the occasional diegetic performance. It works together beautifully to shine a light on a story that is frequently overlooked in Hollywood and Ruben being a musician adds an interesting layer of complexity. But by contrast the B plot, about Ahmed and Lou, feels very much Hollywood, feels very much A Star Is Born in it's portrayal of the romantic and angry recovering addict and in the shallow tumult of the relationship.
Ultimately a good film that could have been a great one with an award winning performance from Raci.
Currently streaming on Amazon.
See It.
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