Sound of Metal (2020)

Our friends, for a holiday treat, rented an independent theater out for 10 of us (three bubbles, spaced far apart), and it was great to hear this movie about loosing your hearing in a space with state of the art sound.  This is a poerful story incredibly told.

Ruben and Lou are drummer and singer in a metal band, on the road, performing and living in their motor home.  Shortly after meeting them we’re watching the drummer realize that his hearing is drastically disappearing. This is not a mere ringing in the ears or minor hearing loss. At his first meeting with a doctor, he gets word after word wrong, and he’s told that he’s lost 80-90% of his hearing, and the rest will likely soon follow. With a few exceptions, Riz Ahmed plays it subtle, conveying the quietness that often comes with fear and denial. He can play through it (even though the doctor tells him absolutely not). He can get surgery. Everything will be fine. Let's ignore it and go to the next show.

However, Lou knows there’s another problem to consider—Ruben is a recovering addict. He’s been clean for four years, but she knows that trauma often leads to relapse, and knows that Ruben needs focus or he will destroy himself.  This movie will be classified as a drama about deafness, but addiction is a notable part of this story, and just as accomplished. 

So this is incredible.  The sound track is told largely from the perspective of Ruben, so we get a glimpse of the world from a deaf person's perspective.  There are some hearing people in the movie, but the lead actor worked hard to learn ASL and the other main actor playing a deaf person is the son of deaf parents and has been signing his whole life.  Do not let the music genre dissuade you from this movie.