Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
Metal drummer Ruben begins to lose his hearing. When a doctor tells him his condition will worsen, he thinks his career and life is over. His girlfriend Lou checks the former addict into a rehab for the deaf hoping it will prevent a relapse and help him adapt to his new life. After being welcomed and accepted just as he is, Ruben must choose between his new normal and the life he once knew.
Sound of Metal is a quietly extraordinary film elevated by Riz Ahmed's career-best performance as Ruben, conveying the disorientation of hearing loss with visceral immediacy. The sound design and cinematography are genuinely exceptional — the audience is placed inside Ruben's degrading auditory world in a way rarely achieved. Its subject matter and execution feel singular, blending addiction recovery, disability, and identity into something deeply humanistic. The plot is straightforward and some beats are predictable, and while the ending is thematically resonant it is somewhat ambiguous in a way that may feel unresolved to some viewers. Still, this is one of the more distinctive and accomplished dramas of its era.