<p>Director: Darius Marder</p>.<p>Cast: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke</p>.<p>Score: 3.5</p>.<p>Change is a strange thing. Some changes are small and leave no real imprint on one's life, while others can change everything a person has ever known about the world, their friends, and themselves.</p>.<p>This is the crux of <em>Sound of Metal</em>, a film that probably would not work if not for its use of sound and its protagonist, Ruben Stone. It may seem like a drama centred around disability, but it ultimately ends up being much more.</p>.<p>Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is a heavy metal drummer for a two-person band 'Blackgammon' with his girlfriend Louise (Olivia Cooke). A former drug addict, Ruben has dedicated his life to drumming, but change hits him like a truck when he loses his hearing near-completely.</p>.<p><em>Sound of Metal</em> is an atypical film, in both its subject matter and how it presents it. It follows a clear goal for Ruben: To fix his hearing, but 'fixing' a colossal change like this will always leave a deep mark, which is something Ruben learns as he, coaxed by a concerned and desperate Louise, stays with a deaf community and works through the many stages of grief by interacting with people like him.</p>.<p>Riz Ahmed's portrayal of Ruben is one of the two cornerstones that drive the compelling storytelling of <em>Sound of Metal</em>, the other being the amazing sound design. He impeccably shows Ruben in several lights, from a generally apathetic-but-dedicated musician who wants nothing to do with deaf communities and wants his life back, to a Ruben who is gentle, peaceful and almost at terms with his new life.</p>.<p><em>Sound of Metal</em>'s sound design is also a noteworthy element as it takes us through Ruben's journey by showing us what he hears: Nothing. The eerie, painful silence permeates the entirety of Ruben's perspective, providing a genuine justification for his desire to return to his old life even as he adjusts to a life without sound, and a glimpse of the fear he has of losing Louise, who he is shown to love dearly.</p>.<p>To close, <em>Sound of Metal</em> is a quiet lesson on what 'change' can bring to a person's life, without any layer of sugar-coating or sweet-talking.</p>
<p>Director: Darius Marder</p>.<p>Cast: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke</p>.<p>Score: 3.5</p>.<p>Change is a strange thing. Some changes are small and leave no real imprint on one's life, while others can change everything a person has ever known about the world, their friends, and themselves.</p>.<p>This is the crux of <em>Sound of Metal</em>, a film that probably would not work if not for its use of sound and its protagonist, Ruben Stone. It may seem like a drama centred around disability, but it ultimately ends up being much more.</p>.<p>Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is a heavy metal drummer for a two-person band 'Blackgammon' with his girlfriend Louise (Olivia Cooke). A former drug addict, Ruben has dedicated his life to drumming, but change hits him like a truck when he loses his hearing near-completely.</p>.<p><em>Sound of Metal</em> is an atypical film, in both its subject matter and how it presents it. It follows a clear goal for Ruben: To fix his hearing, but 'fixing' a colossal change like this will always leave a deep mark, which is something Ruben learns as he, coaxed by a concerned and desperate Louise, stays with a deaf community and works through the many stages of grief by interacting with people like him.</p>.<p>Riz Ahmed's portrayal of Ruben is one of the two cornerstones that drive the compelling storytelling of <em>Sound of Metal</em>, the other being the amazing sound design. He impeccably shows Ruben in several lights, from a generally apathetic-but-dedicated musician who wants nothing to do with deaf communities and wants his life back, to a Ruben who is gentle, peaceful and almost at terms with his new life.</p>.<p><em>Sound of Metal</em>'s sound design is also a noteworthy element as it takes us through Ruben's journey by showing us what he hears: Nothing. The eerie, painful silence permeates the entirety of Ruben's perspective, providing a genuine justification for his desire to return to his old life even as he adjusts to a life without sound, and a glimpse of the fear he has of losing Louise, who he is shown to love dearly.</p>.<p>To close, <em>Sound of Metal</em> is a quiet lesson on what 'change' can bring to a person's life, without any layer of sugar-coating or sweet-talking.</p>