Sound of Metal (2021) Review

For a long time now I have heard great things about Sound of Metal and with 6 Oscar nominations the hype intensified. But due to the Coronavirus it has only just come to Amazon and I watched it this morning and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees a drummer's life changed when he starts to lose his hearing. 

Main Character

Riz Ahmed has always been an actor I have liked but I never saw this performance coming as he is absolutely amazing in this role. This is easily the best performance of his career and he truly deserves all the praise that is coming his way. You really see the tragedy of his character as he starts to lose his hearing and you feel a connection with him here and the real life changing journey that he has to go through in the film. 

Supporting Characters

Olivia Cooke plays his girlfriend in the film and she is also really good, there relationship is really well presented and you see how they care for each other and react to the situation that he has been put in. She isn't in the film a huge amount but she plays a very key role and she realises that very well indeed. Paul Raci plays a sort of mentor figure to Ahmed and he is also fantastic which is crazy because he hasn't really acted that much over the last 10 years. You can see this is a film and character that was important to him and he gives it his all having an interesting and great chemistry with Ahmed that carries a large chunk of the film. Lauren Ridloff and Mathieu Almaric have small roles and are both good, with Ridloff probably being the most high profile deaf actress that there is, her presence felt appropriate and added some real depth to the project here. 

Story 

The story is really good, if you want to watch this film for loads of cool music scenes then you are going to be disappointed. This isn't a film about music, it is a story about one mans journey and how a life changing experience affects him and the others around him and it does an amazing job of that. Riz Ahmed sells it so well and you really see his journey play out and you care so much with an ending that is equally thought provoking and rewarding in its nature. 

Script

The script is really great, the drama is really well presented and handled differently to what you expect from movies with a serious subject matter in there. There are also some nice bits of humour that adds some levity to the whole film and what is going on. Also the film has plenty of sign language and I really like how it was handled and made it something that an audience member such as me would be interested in learning. 

Style 

The style is good but mainly the sound design which is incredible. The film does an amazing job of making you feel like you are going through this crisis with Ruben our lead character. The lack of sound and ability to hear other characters is equally uncomfortable and tragic but adds so much depth to the characters and the film. But literally the only thing holding this film back from a perfect score is the pacing, it just drags its heels in at times and the subject is interesting enough but I think a slightly quicker pace at times would have really helped. 

Overall

Overall, Sound of Metal is a fantastic film that everybody should see. It's also amazing that this is a directorial debut by Darius Marder so expect a big future from him. This film has to be in contention to win the Oscar categories its in and deserves the two hours it takes to watch. 

Rating - 9/10