SOUND OF METAL, sponsored in honor of our HEARING LOOP SPONSORS

During a series of adrenaline-fueled one-night gigs, itinerant punk-metal drummer Ruben (Riz Ahmed) begins to experience intermittent hearing loss. When a specialist tells him his condition will rapidly worsen, he thinks his music career — and with it his life — is over. His bandmate and girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke) checks the recovering heroin addict into a secluded sober house for the deaf in hopes it will prevent a relapse and help him learn to adapt to his new situation. But after being welcomed into a community that accepts him just as he is, Ruben has to choose between his equilibrium and the drive to reclaim the life he once knew. Utilizing startling, innovative sound design techniques, director Darius Marder takes audiences inside Ruben’s experience to vividly recreate his journey into a rarely examined world.

"Sound of Metal" is at once accessible and inaccessible. It is open captioned, meaning subtitles are burned into the actual film, yet several scenes contain muffled voices or ASL without captions. Ruben, and a hearing audience who are placed in Ruben’s POH (or point of hearing, a phrase Marder uses), are “learning to be deaf.” More than just accepting his condition, Ruben is discovering what it is like to live in an ableist world and building community with others similar to himself.

2021

Academy Awards

Nominated, Oscar

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Nominated, Oscar

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Nominated, Oscar

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominated, Oscar

Best Original Screenplay

Won, Oscar

Best Achievement in Film Editing

Won, Oscar

Best Sound

"A film that deserves to be seen by the widest possible audience, reminding us of cinema's unique ability to challenge, entertain, uplift and unite."

Rating: 5/5 Mark Kermode, Observer (UK)
120 minutes
R

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