Sound of Metal

Some films leave an indivisible imprint because not only have they touched our hearts, but they also show the fundamental importance of cinema in our daily lives. Certainly left without any award from the Deauville American Film Festival, which is a real injustice in our eyes, Sound of metal is not only one of the best films of this year but above all an important and successful film on communication, the language of the deaf and their integration into our society and also a real message of hope in a difficult period marked by a pandemic that never ends and for which a hypothetical vaccine will not arrive before 2021.

The story is universal, that of a musical group composed of Ruben (Riz Ahmed) and Lou (Olivia Cooke) who are touring the United States. Lou is a singer and guitarist and Lou is a drummer. Living simply for their passion which is music, Ruben gradually begins to become deaf, victim of a progressive hearing loss. His worries will lead this couple to make a difficult decision that will not only end their musical tour, but will also lead Ruben to join a deaf and dumb band and to have to learn sign language in order to start a new life, far from the music that is his consuming passion.

The script written by Darius Marder and Abraham Marder begins with a virtuoso scene reminiscent of Damien Chazelle's Whiplash (also discovered in Deauville) and then moves in a completely different direction, highlighting the important changes in Ruben's behavior but also his way of seeing the world. The many sacrifices he will have to make to attempt an operation to restore part of his hearing faculties but also to try to find Lou who has left the United States to join his father, Richard Berger (Matthieu Amalric) in France. Sound of Metal perfectly documented is also performed by an excellent duo of actors composed by Riz Ahmed (Jason Bourne (2016), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Venom (2018) ...) and Olivia Cooke (Ouija (2014), Golem, the London Killer (2016), Ready player One (2018) and the series Bates motel (2013-2017)).

The work on sound also plays an important role and reinforces the dramatic aspect of the film. Whether it is the musical numbers, Ruben's progressive hearing loss or the problems he has with his equipment following surgery, nothing is left to chance here and Sound of Metal stands out not only because of its originality, its casting that sounds right, but also because of this work on sound. In the same way, the numerous scenes featuring real inexperienced actors who are deaf and dumb turn out to be emotionally charged scenes. After a documentary, Loot (2008), the director Darius Marder signs a masterful film that we can only advise you to discover soon on Amazon Prime Video.

Sound of Metal
Directed by Darius Marder
Produced by Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Bill Benz, Cathy Benz
Written by Darius Marder, Abraham Marder
Starring Rice Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Mathieu Amalric
Music by Nicolas Becker, Abraham Marder
Cinematography : Daniël Bouqet
Edited by Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
Production company: Caviar, Ward Four
Distributed by Amazon Studios
Release date: September 6, 2019 (TIFF), November 20 2020 (United States)
Running time : 130mns

Seen on September 5, 2020 at the Centre International de Deauville

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