AFI: Riz Ahmed in "Sound of Metal"
Sunday, October 18, 2020 at 3:00PM 
by Eurocheese
When putting together my list of films to catch at the festival, I threw this film in because I’d heard that it had an incredible sound design. Nobody told me that Riz Ahmed gives one of the best leading male performances that we’ve seen in years. Nobody told me that this passion project would have me emotionally on edge from start to finish, or that I’d leave feeling that it was unlike any film I’d seen before. The fact that the sound design buzz on the sound design proved true was the delicious cherry on top.
Ahmed plays Ruben, a drummer in a rock band, and the movie kicks off immersing us in one of his performances...
The sound is overwhelming and disorienting, much like the show itself, but we can feel him maintaining the pounding force behind the music. The film smartly contrasts this with calming morning sounds, music played at a lighter volume, and regular street sounds before we get our first sample of the muffled, shocking contrast when Ruben first realizes there is a problem. The film only takes minutes to register the devastating impact this damage might have on our main character, and the way it's established speaks to the tight editing required to pull this film off.
This is when Ahmed gets to shine. Even though the sound puts us in his head space, we’re not sure how he is going to react because he himself isn’t sure how he will react to his hearing loss from minute to minute. Whether he’s screaming at girlfriend and fellow rocker Lou (played by Olivia Cooke, also doing great work), claiming that he’s fine when he’s clearly struggling, or he goes back to bottling up his emotions as if nothing is happening, this performance is a constant rollercoaster. Ahmed is raw and still grounded enough to make his outbursts feel like natural eruptions, allowing us to walk in his shoes so we understand why he feels like a constant time bomb.
Part of what I enjoy about the story is the surprising direction it takes, so I won’t spoil how Ruben confronts his difficulties. I will say that along the way he meets a man named Joe played by Paul Raci, who provides nuanced guidance that emotionally hits home. This movie isn’t just about struggling with personal losses and learning to find our own paths – it’s about figuring out how to find personal fulfillment amidst the chaos. It also goes out of its way to show great respect to the deaf community, and in case I haven’t said it enough, the sound design of this film makes it truly unique. Any cinephile should be excited to experience this film.
Watching the interviews at the AFI Festival after the film ended, it was incredible to hear how they built in Ahmed’s performance in certain scenes. There were times when they were literally instructing his physical mannerisms – blink, now touch your ear, now cough, etc. – and you'd never have guessed the technical restrictions by how naturally he pulls off each scene. Ahmed’s work has been strong in the past, especially in Nightcrawler and The Night Of, but his empathy and rage here are breathtaking. (I also expect writer/director Darius Marder is going to be someone to watch in coming years.)
In the meantime, if there’s any justice in the world the Academy’s sound brach will be crazy about this film. And I will be livid if Riz Ahmed isn’t seriously considered for a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his fantastic work. A-
Sound of Metal is currently playing at both AFI and Middleburg festivals. It will stream on Amazon Prime beginning December 4th, 2020.
Reader Comments (10)
I saw this yesterday and it great. Excited that Riz Ahmed is getting good notices.
Sounds good.
And I think Riz Ahmed could be a good James Bond. He and Jamie Bell are my two fave options at the moment.
@Edward L.-I could go for that. They're not pretty boys thank goodness and have the chops. I'd say give them a shot.
I wanna see Riz nominated for Best Actor!
thevoid -- wait. in what universe is Riz Ahmed not pretty?
I love Riz Ahmed so, so much. He’s so damn beautiful and talented. He’s in my 2019 best actor lineup for this.
I would have nominated Riz twice already: Lead Actor for Four Lions and Supporting Actor for Nightcrawler.
He is amazing.My first touch with his talent was his role in Charlie Brooker's amazing "Dead Set".
Saw this over the weekend and Riz is so so good. So is Paul Raci as Joe (no clue who that actor is, but he was really great).
Nathaniel--and Jamie Bell lol.
I keep mixing this one with MOGUL MOWGLI which was also on the festival circuit earlier this year and is also about music.