52 Pick-Up # 34 – Sound of Metal (2019)

Welcome back once again as August comes to a photo finish for 52 Pick-Up.

The timing wasn't how I would have wanted it, but I can't pretend the lineup wasn't strong at least. With that in mind, I can't say we're closing out the month with a happy ending, but it's at least going to be a little more upbeat than last entry would have been.

This is another that has been on my list that also falls under 'escaped my Oscar to do list' the year it came out. In hindsight, I'm still surprised I put this one off this long, particularly as Riz Ahmed has been one of those actors I've been interested in the career arc for since Nightcrawler, and it's great to see him get a lead role like this and carry it as well as he does.

But, I get ahead of myself. Let's go for the pitch, shall we?

Sound of Metal follows Ahmed as Ruben, a drummer performing as part of a metal act with his girlfriend, Lou (Olivia Cooke.) The couple are touring as Ruben notices he's having troubles with his hearing. On performing some tests, it is confirmed this is not a temporary condition. In fact, his doctors advise him to avoid loud noises in order to preserve the hearing he still has while he works out his next plans. For Ruben, the solution is in the form of cochlear implants that can aid with his hearing, but are outside of his ability to afford. As he tries to maintain his life as it was before the loss, and starts showing signs of relapsing behavior to former addictions, Lou becomes worried and gets him in touch with a shelter specifically for deaf addicts. There, a reluctant Ruben is introduced to Joe (Paul Raci) a gruff, but empathetic veteran who runs the shelter and wants to help Ruben learn to adjust to the changes in his life, even if Ruben is still determined to get back to his old life.

That last part is one of the things that really got me on this watch. The way this movie presents Ruben and how he's processing what he's going through isn't a clean, feel good journey. He frequently butts up against what is becoming an increasing inevitability, often leading to less than admirable actions. Despite this, the movie doesn't actively paint him as a bad guy any more than it presents him as saintly. It's a very flawed, human look at how people can process something as big as the idea of 'your body is changing in a way that will alter how you live your life from this day forward.' Conversely, the movie is also very sympathetic in how it presents those around Ruben. Both Lou and Joe are presented as people who the movie makes clear genuinely do care about Ruben's well-being, even if they don't share his drive for getting the implants. 

Additionally, the implants are another area where the movie presents a welcome nuance. We see how early on Ruben's life is built around sound and his music, so we get why he doesn't want to give up on hearing. At the same time, the movie, through Joe and his shelter, does help show that a changed life isn't the same thing as a ruined or lost life. Even as Ruben still pursues the implants, at times doing things that make him a more checkered protagonist, we see him living around both the recovering addicts and deaf children (who Ruben learns ASL alongside) and seeing that they are still living full, regular lives.

In coming to this off of In the Bedroom, there was the half in jest question of if this was going to be a mood lift or a similar downer. The answer in this case is – a little of both. Ultimately, the movie comes to a better place by the end, and that final scene is one I can tell is going to stay with me in a good way, but it is also a very bittersweet movie in a number of ways. For as messy as Ruben's journey is at times, and the mistakes he makes, ultimately he ends the movie in a positive place after some of rough patches he took getting there. It sounds odd to put into words, but there is something refreshing about seeing a movie approach this from that nuanced area where you can sympathize both with wanting to hear and also with recognizing it's okay to come to terms with this change.

Also, before I finish this, I do have to say one more thing – VERY well earned Oscar win for the sound design on this. Seeing the movie adjusting the sound to reflect how Ruben is hearing things at points, to further underscore how this is effecting him, is a great aspect to this movie both as an idea and in its execution, and I'm pleased to see it got acknowledged. Best Sound can be a real weird category some years where, to borrow a statement have heard from others, it can be less a case of 'best' and more a case of 'most.' With this in mind, this is one where I'm glad the craft was recognized and how much the movie is enhanced sometimes by the choice of when not to use sound as much as when to use it.

Yeah, not quite part of my main point, but I did want to give the shout out. Seriously, the movie is all around a strong entry in terms of script, performances, and direction, but the sound really does some spectacular work adding to those elements. 

If you missed this one when it came out, I'd recommend seeking it out.

And with that, I'm back on track as September rolls in.

So, next week I'm kicking off a new month with a long overdue entry, both as a movie and for a lead performer I'm surprised I have not had come up here yet. Until next time with 2003's American Splendor.

Till then