If you think there is a unanimous critic uproar in favor of Riz Ahmed’s Oscar-nominated performance, then you are right. Thankfully, the critics are onto something here.
If you’re late to the show, here’s what you need to know.
Sound of Metal details the journey of Ruben, a musician plagued by the sudden loss of hearing. His career, and by extension his world, is crushed by the burdening loss of each individual frequency. All of this is brought to the screen through a rich soundscape that emulates deafness, as well as an evocative performance from Riz Ahmed.
Immediately when I heard that this followed a drummer and wasn’t a biopic, I thought of Whiplash. And I’m all here for it.
On a technical aspect, I’m reminded of last year’s best picture nomination 1917. In case you didn’t watch that, 1917 follows two British soldiers over a single night in what appeared to be “one-take”. Two hours of a continuous war shot was an incredible (albeit linear) sight to behold. While amazing to watch, it didn’t use its achievements to say anything more than war is bad and look how good at filming we are.
But unlike 1917, Sound of Metal isn’t an ego bloater. Instead, it takes the challenge of recreating deafness to make a devastating but deserving best picture run.
Sound of Metal is a demonstrative portrait of patient storytelling that respects the deaf community. Both snobs and normies alike will be pleased and informed. It’s well-deserving of its nominations and I’ll gladly hop aboard the Riz Ahmed bandwagon (as should you).
If I was irked by anything it would be that we didn’t hear enough of the band, because the songs were banging! Just take a listen:
We see this hard core punk band as just regular people who have to work hard, because yes, metal musicians are three-dimensional too.
Complex and deep, yet stunningly simple. Sound of Metal will without a doubt be standing its ground this Oscar season.
Here’s how I feel in summary by emotioncon: 😊
Next week: Minari
