Sound of Metal

Because I watched Sound of Metal last night, I have now seen all of the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture (click on the titles for my commentaries on The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Minari, Nomadland, Promising Young Woman, and The Trial of the Chicago 7).  I'm not sure why I waited so long to see Sound of Metal but I found it to be incredibly moving.  Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is a drummer for a heavy metal duo with his girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke).  One night during a performance, he realizes that he is having trouble hearing and this is soon confirmed by a specialist who tells him that it is likely to get worse if he doesn't limit his exposure to loud noise.  Ruben is in denial about the diagnosis, thinking that expensive cochlear implants will fix the problem, and continues to play until it becomes impossible.  Lou is worried that this setback will cause Ruben to relapse so she seeks out a program for recovering addicts who are deaf run by a man named Joe (Paul Raci) who lost his hearing in Vietnam.  Lou realizes that Ruben won't commit to the program as long as she is in his life so she decides to leave him.  Joe is able to help him but Ruben continues to struggle because he sees his deafness as something he needs to fix rather than something he needs to adapt to and eventually sells everything he owns, including his drums, to get the implants.  While the implants allow Ruben to hear they also cause a strange distortion which might derail his plans to resume the life he once had.  What really resonated with me about this powerful character study is Ruben's attempt to downplay the seriousness of his situation and his refusal to accept a reality that conflicts with the identity he has created for himself because I think that is a very human reaction to adversity. Ahmed gives a captivating performance that is also understated and restrained.  There is nothing showy about it but you know everything that Ruben is feeling simply by the look in his eyes.  The closeup on his face when he realizes that he can never go back to the life he once had with Lou is absolutely devastating.  Raci is also incredibly affecting as someone who tries to help Ruben envision another life for himself.  The innovative sound design is brilliant because the harsh feedback and muffled sounds really allow the audience to experience everything that Ruben is hearing (I especially enjoyed how the sound of vibration is portrayed because that is such a turning point for Ruben) and the use of silence is also very powerful, particularly in the final scene.  I usually get really distracted when I watch movies at home (it is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video) but this held my attention from beginning to end and I highly recommend it!

Note:  Now that I have seen all of the nominees, my pick for Best Picture is Minari!  Have you seen any of the nominees?  Do you have a favorite to win?