Very powerful movie full of emotions
The journey of dealing with deafness is told impecably , each stage you feel the disappointment and empowerless of Ruben
Well written , Well directed , and very well acted , Riz Ahmed is phenomenal and the sound was great
Very powerful movie! I don't need to repeat, what the other comments already pointed out.
The only 2 things I found a little bit weird, were 1st: that it seemd like nobody told Ruben, that his hearing will be different after the surgery. I don't think (or hope) that the doctors he probably talked to, wouldn't tell him that.
And 2nd, I feel like "Metal" as a genre, probably hasn't been handled fair here. I do not listen to Metal myself, but obviously for a lot of people it sounds just like "loud noise" which Ruben turns off at the end.
So metaphorically... Maybe that thought goes too far, but I feel, that metal as a genre was handled a little negative. Like these two only played Metal because they were hurt from the past and that they had to get out of it, to start living a normal life again. But still for the characters, as they were presented, I think storywise it worked and the journey they had, was resolved very very well.
But these really are the only issues I had. People should definetly watch it! Great movie! :)
Fantastic film. Riz Ahmed plays a metal drummer losing his hearing. Olivia Cooke plays his girlfriend. One of the best of the year. Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine, The Place beyond the Pines) co wrote the script, and his fine balance of drama and tragedy shines through.
The performances are noteworthy, Ahmed giving an absolute blinder. The sound design is predictably stark given the subject. Hard to review without spoilers but the themes of rehabilitation and self destruction are evident. Marder also wrote 'The Place Beyond the Pines', so it's clear that this team are a tight-knit group who believe in each others work.
It's a film that would have been overly melodramatic and sentimental in the wrong hands, but the direction is absolutely pitch perfect, and the last 15 minutes or so had me in bits.
Great movie. In the end, it is about acceptance of who we are.
Part of me fears of losing my hearing at some point in my life. You just gotta appreciate the little things you take for granted sometimes. Being abled in all your senses is a gift itself. This movie made me appreciate it more. Got me thinking. I am just moved. Brilliant film. Perfect. Immaculate.
The description of the movie says that this movie is about a former drug addict musician that is about to lose his hearing. At a higher level I think the movie is about people trying to figure out where they belong. Or maybe more importantly, where they do not belong. I think the story is extremely well told and the acting is incredible. Maybe more importantly, the last ten or fifteen minutes are true to the spirit of the movie. It was definitely one of the best movies of the year.
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Oh this was so beautiful!!!!!! My favourite from this season so far. So heartfelt, so raw and obviously that sound editing!!!! Incredible. Riz Ahmed is gorgeous in it too. This year’s best actor race is insane!!
Whoa, where did this movie come from?
As soon as the film started, I knew instantly I was in for an emotional ride, and I was right.
'Sound of Metal' is a great movie that felt so encouraging and honest. I admired how the movie portrays the deaf community in a more positive light, because in the media it's usually misrepresented, as it often reeks of denial and self-loathing. I can tell a lot of care and effort went into this.
It's very thought-provoking as well. The main character Ruben (Riz Ahmed) who is a heavy-metal drummer, where his entire life revolves around the world of sound and music, which sadly gets snatched away from him. This devastating part of his life also becomes the thing that would later define him. The silence makes him pause and consider what life can be like when we learn to accept and let things go. Not only accepting the lost of your hearing, but overcoming a nasty drug addiction. By losing apart of yourself isn't always doom and gloom after you let it sit for a while, because it can give you a brand-new perspective on things. You start to conclude that silence is heaven to the ears.
Riz Ahmed delivers a terrific and heart-breaking performance as Ruben. He's the type of actor that does such a great job of making you care for his characters and here is no different. Riz has such intense, and yet expressive eyes that convey so much on what the character is feeling or thinking. Every worry, frustration, sadness, joy, and fear were all felt through his performance.
Olivia Cooke, who I didn't recognize at first, also delivers a great performance as Lou, Ruben's girlfriend. There is nothing more soul crushing than watching someone you love at their lowest point both emotionally and mentally. It makes me wonder why she isn't a bigger star already, because I think she's fantastic.
I like how the movie barely has a score, as the background is often incredibly quiet. The movie opens with a loud heavy metal concert blasting away it's music, but from Ruben's point of view it slowly becomes more muffled and clogged up. It just shows that a great deal of thought went into the audio and that alone made the whole thing effective. The same thing applies to Darius Marder’s directing and Daniël Bouquet cinematography; fantastic and impactful.
Overall rating: Highly recommend.
Maybe the only movie this year that I’m still thinking about on a near-daily basis. Shocking, beautiful, transcendent. Shoutout to Paul Raci. I'll never forget the roof scene.
Incredibly unique and sublimely directed film, with a thoroughly engaging plot. Amazing performances from cast.
Great movie, Riz is outstanding
Highly recommend!
Riz Ahmed gives an incredible performance as Ruben, not only did he make me care immensely for the character but he also makes Ruben feel like a real person. You can tell he put a tonne of effort into this and it really does show.
Away from Ahmed, Olivia Cooke (Lou) and Paul Raci (Joe) are also very good performers, while it's nice to see Lauren Ridloff (Diane) involved - she's great in 'The Walking Dead', while she is soon to be in the MCU's 'Eternals' as well.
So much heart to this. I couldn't possibly say with 100% certainty for obvious reasons, but it seems to do a terrific job at telling the story that it intends to. That's not always the case, so the filmmakers deserve praise for that - as well as for the sound design et al.
'Sound of Metal' is worthy of the hype, no question.
I’m a little lost for words to describe this film... it is a journey for both the protagonist and the viewer. It is evocative and intimate. The acting is powerful. It really is an actor driven vehicle. It is not about Metal music, so if you are not a metal head, be patient with the opening minutes of noise, turn down the volume and wait. It actually becomes somewhat of a study of silence. It was nominated for 6 Oscars (2021). I don’t think it will win Best Picture but it is definitely worthy of its nominations. If the competition wasn’t so stiff for Actor in a Leading Role, Riz Ahmed would be a contender. His performance is a 10. But, for the whole film, I give this an 8 (very good) out of 10. [Drama]
THE GOOD: ‘SOUND OF METAL’
WRITING: 80
ACTING: 100
LOOK: 90
SOUND: 100
FEEL: 80
NOVELTY: 100
ENJOYMENT: 75
RE-WATCHABILITY: 85
INTRIGUE: 75
EXPECTATIONS: 80
THE GOOD:
Ruben slowly losing his hearing is a big part of the story and the way this film brings that to lie is so palpable that I found myself several times fully immersed in his experience. The sound design and mixing is clever and delivers a very strong message to the audience, thus making it possible for all of us to feel what Ruben is currently going through.
This film made me think about how much of my time awake I spend with headphones plugged into my ears, listening to music, podcasts, audiobooks and the like. Seeing Ruben go through all of this, feeling his pain and desperation, really makes me want to treasure my ability to hear for as long as possible.
The contrast between the loud and intense surroundings that Ruben spends most of his time in and his rapidly growing inner silence is brilliant.
Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke do a great job portraying a musician and his manager who are strongly affected by major life changes that suddenly makes their entire world crumble from below their feet. There are so much genuine desperation and a sense of loss involved that you cannot help but feel bad for Ruben and Lou.
Having to sit through many completely silent scenes and watch people talk to each other using nothing but sign language (without subtitles!) is a bold move that helps to give the film a unique atmosphere. People who don’t speak sign language will likely be just as lost as Ruben, making his experience all the more realistic.
Paul Raci plays an incredibly kind, understanding and patient mentor for Ruben. I’d take him as my life mentor any day.
Sound of Metal is a completely different kind of silent film. It is silent for large chunks of the story, but even in the silence, there is sound. It is, above all, a fine representation of how you can learn to live and enjoy life as a deaf person.
As important as our ability to hear is to most people, it is heartbreaking to see Ruben turn his back to the community that helped him overcome his disability to return to his old life, only to see him realize that he can never go back completely.
Ruben’s life goes from a high to a low to a new high and finally to a low again, teaching us how we sometimes have to accept the new situation we find ourselves in and find a way to enjoy life despite its shortcomings. Sometimes, we cannot return to what has been before.
THE BAD:
The story movies onto the main plot of Ruben losing his hearing and having to learn a new way of life very quickly. The first act barely allows us to learn about Ruben, his career and the people around him before his major life change.
The story moves from Ruben’s early struggles to his new life with such haste that the huge change in his life sometimes doesn’t feel like a big struggle at all.
Sound of Metal deals with Ruben’s life before his loss of hearing fairly lightly and forgets about it until the second half of the film, making it feel like a mostly pointless framing device until it is addressed again.
It feels as if this film dances around addiction without truly dipping its toes properly into the theme, making it feel like a pointless addition.
The final act kind of runs out of steam as the story that has been slowly built up over the preceding 100 minutes slowly and steadily dries out without ever arriving at a satisfying conclusion.
THE UGLY:
This film tried to tells us what the sound of metal is. However, it ended up telling us what the sound of silence is.
THE VERDICT:
Sound of Metal is a stripped-down, realistically constructed film about life as a deaf person and how one can come to accept huge life.-changing events and find happiness despite having to let go of one’s earlier life.
87% = = :white_check_mark: = GOOD
A must watch definitely. The plot is attractive itself but the script and direction of Darius Marder made the film a journey to enjoy and to think about. The Golden Globe nomination for Riz Ahmed is well deserved due to his very good performance as a musician who has to struggle with losing hearing, his face and eyes are so expressive that he takes us into his rage, fear, despair, happiness and serenity. Setting first and last scenes into comparison helps us realize how well it ends.
"The world does keep moving, and it can be a damn cruel place. But for me, those moments of stillness, that place, that's the kingdom of God."
I don't like to overhype movies, but this might be my favorite of the year. You can tell that Riz hung out with the deaf community to get a feel for what it would really be like to lose your hearing, and his connection to them makes this feel special. While I do agree that Riz Ahmed was amazing in this, I also give major kudos to Paul Raci. I would want a mentor like him in my life.
My favourite movie of 2020, and the only movie I have seen that I thought was truly great. I am in awe of the long stretches without dialogue which keep you completely riveted. The sound design is beyond anything I have come across. It is so profound and moving.
Not at all what I anticipated. As someone who's a drummer and a huge metal fan, and also unfortunately experiencing some hearing loss as a result of it, the hundreds of concerts over the years and so on, this hit quite close to home. Though this is no where close to my own experience, I can certainly feel for Rueben. Ahmed played this perfectly, as did Olivia Cooke.
Reminded me a lot of the film The Tribe though a completely different movie entirely.
The most touching story I've seen in 2020. If you don't feel any empathy for deaf people now, I don't know what to say to you.
Sound of Metal is like an object in your rear view mirror because it's bigger than it appears. This resonant story of a drummer in a metal duo who has sudden hearing loss is as good as it sounds. Because, like all well-told tales, this one is so intimate it's universal.
Riz Ahmed takes the lead role of the recovering addict facing the music personally and delivers such a stark and accurate portrayal that it is already receiving some Oscar buzz.
Playing the other half of the metal duo and his better half at home, Olivia Cooke uses her immense talent (if you haven't seen Katy Says Goodbye, don't, because she's so real in it, it might kill you) to show us every little flaw in her character's character like a little girl displaying her cuts.
But perhaps the real hero of the film is director Darius Marder (The Place Beyond the Pines). His subtle yet obvious talent makes him more a tattoo artist than director because Sound of Metal gets under your skin, leaves its mark, and becomes a part of you after you walk away.
You know what? I love my ears! Period!
Very impactful movie about the hear of a musician
I liked how the doc at the beginning tried to lighten the mood suggesting that even turning it up to eleven won't help (well, clearly he never tried it before)
This movie was built on interpretation. Everything we had to interpret was by sight, almost as if we were deaf. As I watched it, I was forced to make my own opinions on what happened or is going to happen. I absolutely love and hate open scenarios where we decide what happens. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so believe me, this movie becomes your own. The production of this amazed me, and finding out it was shot in only 24 consecutive days is insane when you see the quality of acting and metaphorical cinematography. The sound work was astonishing. Genuinely astonishing. I'm not deaf but for those 2 hours, I felt the annoyance, horror, peace, hate, evny, beauty, and so on, that Ruben felt. In other words, I became him. The pain I felt in the noise. The peace I felt in the silence. A must watch.
That ending.... Give me a break. :thumbsdown:
love riz ahmed in this. spectacular performance
hey guess who’s gonna go listen to some French songs and cry
this gal
9/10
That was heavy. I think my neighbor was making onions while I was watching.
Powerful and profound, possibly the only film that accurately conveys the experiences attributed to hearing loss. Ahmed is, as usual, brilliant in the role.
I’m speechless and I can’t put into words and describe how much this movie got to me and the message behind it is absolutely amazing.
Riz Ahmed did a wonderful job of portraying a character that was going through a life changing event and how it effected him emotionally.
This really did deserve the Oscar nomination and I’d highly recommend it.
PS- this is a little nitpicking but the only thing I didn’t buy was when Ruben lost his hearing and he spoke perfectly. I’ve been in situation twice where I almost was close to hearing loss and both the times I spoke loud and had slurred speech because I couldn’t hear myself and it annoyed people. Not saying that you can’t speak properly if you’re deaf but it probably takes practice to get there
this is a powerful movie
One of the best movie I've ever watched. What a beautiful movie. Great sound work and incredible performance from Riz Ahmed. I love the ending, perfect way to end the movie.
Streamed via Amazon Prime
Really enjoyed it, that said, it is not very original. There is another film by the name of It's All Gone Pete Tong which follows an identical plot. The main differences between the two are romantic relationships the main character choses. If you enjoyed this film I highly recommend It's All Gone Pete Tong. Different vibe, but the subject matter is equal.
[Amazon] Shocking. It is probably difficult to reflect the anguish of hearing loss, the need to rebuild life, the longing for everything to be temporary or, at least, to be "fixed." There are few movies this year in which the story flows so naturally. Few in which the sound/absence of sound has such an emotional effect. From Derek Cianfrance it has that sturdy character build (great Riz Ahmed) that raises the story.
Ammmmazing movie! Riz Ahmed was soooo good!
If loosing my hearing would be my only problem, I would be happy. I'm losing much more actually. Diseases suck.
Shout by Dr OctopusVIP 10BlockedParentSpoilers2023-03-30T04:35:32Z
I think there are a lot of good things about this film...
The acting, the way that they emulated hearing loss and the way it sounded when he got the implant.... And when he was at the school in the beginning.
I also agree deafness is not something that necessarily needs to be "fixed" like a disease. However - if an adult decides to make the choice for themselves they want to do something about it, they should be able to without judgement from their own community. Or anyone else. It's certainly not an "addictive" behavior. Acting like it was, and throwing him out like that when he was clearly in need of help was a shitty thing to do imo. But ok.
Also dont care for the whole "stillness"and finding "god" in those moments.... Maybe his moments were when he was playing music? Some people truly feel that and trying to get your hearing back is a big deal when you're a musician. ♂
I also agree that metal as a genre was treated poorly in this film.