Sound of Metal

Sound of Metal (2019)

This gem of a film follows Ruben and Lou, lovers and band mates, who live in a camper van and tour their music. From their frenetic life on stage to the intimacy of making breakfast and listening to jazz. All until Ruben starts to rapidly lose his hearing. The speed of the deterioration is horrifying. To help him navigate through this trauma he enlists in a programme run by the zenful Joe.

With his engrossing performance Riz Ahmed becomes the first Muslim to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar (with Mahershala Ali winning 2 in Best Supporting). If you know him from the brilliant miniseries The Night Of  you won’t be surprised. He’s just as excellent here. He plays the drums with the intensity of a porn star. Those huge eyes perfectly capture the confusion and fear when he receives his diagnosis. The anger and frustration as he has to adjust to being an absolute beginner again (figuratively and literally) is agonising. The isolating dread as he simply waits for something, anything, to happen or change is genuinely heartbreaking.

Paul Raci picks up a well deserved nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His deaf/addict/guru is played with hypnotic stillness and delivers a crucial scene which crushes you. And Olivia Cooke is remarkable as lead singer, girlfriend and emotional punching bag, and unfairly misses out on any accolades (probably stolen by Mank’s Amanda Seyfried).

A great indie flick with 6 Oscar nominations. Based on an unfinished documentary from Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) and given legs by brothers Darius and Abraham Marder - all three now with a Best Original Screenplay nom to their names. There’s a loving and warm tone to this film and a finality to the situation that’s oddly hopeful.

9 Mindful Thumbs Up 👍🏻