“Sound of Metal”

One of the best movies to come out of 2020

By Avery Wageman

“Sound of Metal” completely surprised me and exceeded my expectations. This film follows Ruben, played by Riz Ahmed, a heavy-metal drummer whose hearing is rapidly deteriorating. It centers around finding community and self-acceptance when your world is flipped upside down. Ruben struggles to accept he is now deaf, and out of fear of relapse joins a deaf community of recovered addicts. This community embraces him, teaching him ASL and basically how to be deaf. 

I cannot speak on the film’s representation of the deaf community, as I am a hearing person, but I found this movie to be a compelling look into letting go, moving on, and growing as a person. Ruben’s anger and frustration in response to his new reality are deeply felt, and it was heartbreaking to watch him lose his music and grow apart from his bandmate and girlfriend, Lou.  While Ruben is pushed to accept this massive change in his life, he aches to hold onto the things he loves.

However, this film is not just sad and by no means a pitying take of a deaf man who has lost his life. It is also a joyous portrait of community and adjustment to a new way of being. It is a search for peace and acceptance of self. 

 This film makes you ask how you choose what to let go of and what you can keep when faced with change. As well as asking how does one accept when others move on and change too? 

“Sound of Metal” is a beautiful film, and I sincerely recommend this intimate portrait of a person trying to find himself again.