May 18, 20214 min read

The Sound of Metal: Peace in Stillness

Updated: Feb 27, 2023

Reviews by:

@the_owlseyes
@the_film_twins

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We take a lot of things for granted. We're used to see but sometimes we aren't able to understand. We're used to taste but sometimes we're not able to enjoy. We're used to smell but sometimes we're not able to splay. We're used to touch but sometimes we're not able to reach. We're used to hear but sometimes we're not able to feel. Sometimes we're not able to be. Change happens only after a loss. Death makes us appreciate life, dark makes us appreciate light, silence makes us appreciate noise. Because there's always life after bereavement.

PLOT

"A heavy-metal drummer's life is thrown into freefall when he begins to lose his hearing" or "An artist learns the importance of human connections".

SCRIPT

It's a character study. We're with him since the first beat. And the last one. We get to know him, his past, his passion, his love and his anger. It's an extremely realistic depiction of deafness but it doesn't focus on the downside of it. It shows us that you can still be part of something, that your life isn't a waste without hearing. The choice made by the protagonist isn't as simple as it seems and, probably, you'll think that he's ungrateful but you'll understand his choice. The other characters function as background noise and it works, because the movie gets you totally invested in the protagonist. The plot is pretty simple but the script elevates it. Something which is remarkable at the end of the movie, when everything comes full circle, creating a sense of closure and satisfaction.

Script: 9/10

ACTING

Riz Ahmed gives a spectacular performance. He displays a lot of talents, like drums playing and sign language. What makes him special is his ability to play a flawed character without shying from going deep in every kind of emotion. Sadness, anger, relief and desperation are all here, shining in their true form. The supporting cast works but I've fond Olivia Cooke well casted, cause she's able to shift between two different version of his character without making it seems avulsed. We should also consider the effort, a musical one, who was put here by Cooke and Ahmed, which makes the movie believable and sincere.

Acting: 9/10

PHOTOGRAPHY

The first minutes are interesting. After it the movie becomes pretty stale and scholastic. I've liked some shots but there isn't a lot of them to bring up the quality of this section.

Photography: 6/10

EDITING

Like photography, it isn't patricularly interesting. I've liked the parallelism between the first and the last scene and nothing else. It becomes a little better during the moment of confusion because the camera's shakiness improve the sense of disorientation.

Editing: 6/10

SPECIAL EFFECTS

There's a lack of it because it's a realistic movie and the make-up is plain and simple. I would've considered it bad there has been any trace of cgi here.

Special Effects: 6/10

SOUNDTRACK

This movie isn't made of a particular soundtrack because it's completely focused on the absence of it. This is why the producer have edited the sound in a way to make it seems like you're experiencing it as the protagonist. You'll understand what does it mean to lose, to live with it, how you'll perceive everything and how sound feels like when you have an implant. Sound is also used to counteroppose and parallel the first scene and the last one, to symbolize a character growth. I think that this soundtrack is a technical achievement and it's used perfectly in the movie, to underline a theme which becomes clear at the end.

Soundtrack: 8/10

COSTUMES

The clothes which wear the characters fit well their essence and purpose but there's nothing more to add about it. As I said before, this is what you can expect from a movie about a plausible situation in life.

Costumes: 6/10

CONCLUSION

Script: 9/10

Acting: 9/10

Photography: 6/10

Editing: 6/10

Special Effects: 6/10

Soundtrack: 8/10

Costumes: 6/10

AVERAGE: 7,14

It's a movie which is very competent at making you feel what a deaf person sense. It doesn't revolve only around the drama but it shows that there's a way out of it, a new life after hearing loss. There's a great care for ever detail, to represent the life of deaf people as believable as possible, something which is visible in Riz Ahmed's performance. It's a motion picture which require a lot of patience because the narration is slow and could result boring but the payoff is well deserved. I think that you should watch to understand what does it mean to lose something that we take for granted. To appreciate sound and silence more.

By @the_owlseyes

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