AFI 2020: film #5

"today is not a good day”

one of the most devastating parts of life is not being able to get back to a happiness you once had, especially if it involves people you love. feeling that joy slipping through your fingers, time cannot rewind and only moves forward, and without your consent. relentlessly, painfully. adapt or die. this is a crushing look at that fight against time and change, but it's also hopeful, and eventually peaceful. the sound design was incredible and the hardcoded subtitles were such a smart move. one of the most essential and fitting movies of 2020

Everyone involved in this deserves recognition but if anyone should get that ‘best actor’ award this year, it’s Riz. And it isn’t even close!

Talked about this on my podcast, the Karstcast.

everyone already knows how hard both the sound design and riz ahmed’s performance fuck so i’m just going to say this: olivia cooke’s bleached eyebrows

There's a moment about 10 minutes into this film when Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is at a hearing specialist's office. The specialist is explaining to him that the majority of his hearing is gone, and all his efforts at the moment should be dedicated to preserving what's left.

The film smash cuts to Ruben performing at another metal concert that very night, seemingly disregarding the specialist's advice. It's a stunning depiction of that innate human desire to maintain normality -- to act like nothing's wrong, to carry on as though everything's fine.

That's ultimately what the film spends the rest of its runtime navigating: The impact of that desire, and the consequences. When something cataclysmic happens, you can do everything you can to go back to your old life, or you can try to accept your new one.

Either way, you'll have to live with that decision.

riz ahmed being left handed made him 500% hotter to me i’m sorry

maybe the only movie i’d recommend watching on a laptop with good headphones (or a good surround system but i don’t have that lol)

one might see this film as a drama, but Damien Chazelle sees it as a missed opportunity to further bully Miles Teller in Whiplash.

Much more thoughtful and articulate than I anticipated, full of careful choices but never sacrificing drama for the sake of some self-satisfied sense of subtlety. Full of really incisive observations and representations of the deaf community. Ahmed is terrific.

I would have loved to see this on a big screen with a great sound system, but I have to say: I’m not sure I’ve ever enjoyed watching a movie with headphones this much.

The film presents a dichotomous struggle of a man trying to find tranquility through accepting his situation while also desperate to get his own life back, and this dichotomy is present in the very fundamental of Ruben's character. Riz Ahmed's powerful yet intimate performance is not only aggressive and determined, but venerable and touching; not just angry, but scared. The artistry of its storytelling - the directing, the acting and the sound design - is as pure as its message; that is, the journey toward accepting the things that cannot be changed and seeking peace wherever it can be found. An emotionally devastating drama with the grip of an intense thriller that, through a combination of claustrophobic sound design and Ahmed's towering performance, allows us to experience the world through the ears of the hearing impaired, proving that a realistic and profoundly empathetic drama can be far more terrifying than a horror film.

Watched Academy screener

my mom turned a 2 hour film into a 3 hour film. all bathroom breaks, naps, and rewinds

this film is so heartbreaking i cant describe it

Riz Ahmed proves he can be a goddamn rockstar.

com o tempo eu julguei mais os filmes que não dão uma sensação de conclusividade satisfatoria, nas ultimas semanas eu assisti alguns que com certeza questionaram as bases que eu uso pra definir o que ficou conclusivo. sound of metal encompassa mais de uma narrativa mas não se sente na obrigatoriedade de fechar tudo com um lacinho. o retorno emocional que é pensar nessa história com carinho e em como o final conclui bem toda a filosofia sobre o que é ser e viver como surdo é surreal e vai por uma ideia muito mais real de que nem todo final é uma história de superação com grandes emoções, existe coisa muito mais simples e importante pra internalizar como a paz consigo mesmo.

Riz Ahmed is terrific as a heavy-metal drummer who loses his hearing. I think a lesser movie would have tried to make him more sympathetic, more of a martyr, but Sound of Metal is interested in the full spectrum of such an experience and Ahmed makes a lot of tough but smart choices with his performance. His Ruben does not take this development well. He lashes out, he's selfish, he's hurt -- he acts, honestly, like a lot of us probably would if our life's singular pursuit were suddenly and capriciously snatched away from us.

Shoutout to the film's exceptional sound design, which often takes us into Ruben's subjective experience and makes us understand how frustrating and disorienting his hearing loss can be. Even for a viewer who lately watches movies with the captions on, it lands like a haymaker.

This film illustrates that loosing something as important as hearing might be though. You feel alone, Lost, forsaken. But it won't last, there IS people like you. The mistake IS to give every thing to go back to the life as it was before because it won't feel the same, just strange and noisy. Great film, great actor, feels honest.

I knew this guy was good back when I saw Nightcrawler and I’ve been waiting to see him just go off in a movie. So happy its finally happened. Bravo! It’s been a really long time since a movie made me think days after I saw it. This movie really did that for me and that’s an achievement. The director really had a vision when it came to portraying the deafness, it didn’t come across as “preachy” or over the top, it felt very authentic and raw and done in a way that made me feel educated rather than making me feel like I HAVE to feel bad for this person.

While I wasn't gutted emotionally with this story of a man who loses everything and has to figure out how to get it all back, I still can't shake it days later. A lot of it has to do with Riz Ahmed's career-best performance as Ruben Stone, the punk rock drummer who loses his hearing following years of performing on stage. He is exceptional here and hands-down gives the best performance of the year! But a lot of this film's appeal is how it hits on a much more deep philosophical level. There's a lot of Stoic and Buddhist thought present; the journey to surrender that elevates this story as a real life changer. It's hard to believe such an accomplished picture came from a first-time filmmaker. This Top Ten Film of the Year would pair really well with another Top Ten, 'Soul', as a double-feature!

Fantastic film!!

na medida certa; direção e produção soube como arquitetar o filme, desde o enredo até os efeitos de áudio (incluindo o silêncio na medida certa).