Sound of Metal is not what the title implies. On the contrary it is a low key and emotional movie. Ruben is a drummer in a punk-metal duo. He plays with his singing and guitar playing girlfriend Lou and the level of noise is pretty high when the two of them are on stage. The constant stress on his eardrums means that one night Ruben experiences a painful ringing in his ears which quickly develops into almost total deafness. Ruben is understandably shaken and frustrated over his loss of hearing and his frailty makes him afraid that he might slip back into his former heroin addiction. His condition forces him to contact a center for deaf drug addicts. In the beginning he is aggressive and somewhat patronizing towards the leader of the center and the other drug abusers but slowly he undergoes a development towards accepting the manager, the other drug abusers but also the deaf children at the nearby school. Ruben quickly learns sign language so he can communicate with the other people at the center, but he goes on outings with the deaf children, which we can see he enjoys. However, Ruben still wants his hearing back and to get an implant operation he must sell everything he owns. He leaves the rehab center, and he undergoes the operation after which he flies to Paris to look up Lou who now lives with her French father. The two of them meet but Ruben quickly senses that he has changed since they were on the road together. He leaves Lou without saying goodbye and at the end of the movie we see Ruben sitting on a bench in Paris watching two boys playing with a skateboard. Sound of Metal is a warm and life-affirming movie even though it is set in surroundings which often give you the opposite impression. Ruben is played by the British-Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed who is excellent in the role as the tormented deaf drummer. The film won two Academy Awards in 2021 for best sound and for best editing.
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