Sound of Metal

Sound of Metal
File:Sound of Metal poster.jpeg Official release poster
Directed by	Darius Marder
Produced by	Bill Benz Kathy Benz Bert Hamelinck Sacha Ben Harroche
Screenplay by	Darius Marder Abraham Marder
Story by	Darius Marder Derek Cianfrance
Starring	Riz Ahmed Olivia Cooke Paul Raci
Music by	Abraham Marder Nicolas Becker
Cinematography	Daniël Bouquet
Edited by	Mikkel E. G. Nielsen
Production company	Caviar Ward Four Flat 7 Productions
Distributed by	Amazon Studios
Release dates	September 6, 2019 (2019-09-06) (TIFF) November 20, 2020 (2020-11-20) (United States)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	United States
Language	American Sign Language English
Budget	$5.4 million
Box office	$514,343

Sound of Metal is a 2019 American drama film directed and co-written by Darius Marder. It stars Riz Ahmed as a metal drummer who loses his hearing, and also features Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci, Lauren Ridloff, and Mathieu Amalric.

Sound of Metal had its world premiere in the Platform Prize program at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2019. Amazon Studios released the film in theaters on November 20, 2020, and on Amazon Prime Video on December 4. The film was critically acclaimed, with particular praise for Ahmed's performance and the sound design. It was listed on 52 film critics' top-ten lists for 2020. At the 93rd Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Ahmed) and Best Supporting Actor (Raci), and won for Best Sound and Best Film Editing.

Plot

Drummer Ruben performs in the avant-garde metal duo Blackgammon with his singer girlfriend Lou. They live in an RV and tour the United States performing gigs. When Ruben begins to lose his hearing, he goes to a pharmacy seeking a diagnosis. The pharmacist refers him to a doctor, who finds that Ruben has lost most of his hearing, and that the rest will deteriorate rapidly. Although cochlear implants may benefit him, their high cost is not covered by insurance. The doctor suggests that Ruben eliminate all exposure to loud noises and undergo further testing, but Ruben continues to perform.

Lou wants to stop performing for his safety, but Ruben wants to continue. She is also concerned about his sobriety, as he is a recovering drug addict. They call his sponsor, Hector, who finds a rural shelter for Deaf recovering addicts run by a man named Joe, a recovering alcoholic who lost his hearing in the Vietnam War. Ruben leaves with Lou because they will not let her live there with him and he wants only the implants. Lou, anxious for his wellbeing, leaves and persuades Ruben to return to the shelter.

Ruben meets the other members of the shelter, attends meetings and settles into his new life. He is introduced to schoolteacher Diane and the children in her class, and begins to learn American Sign Language. Joe tasks Ruben with writing and sitting peacefully in an effort to make him comfortable with the silence. Ruben joins Diane's class and connects with the children and the rest of the community. He gives the children and Diane drumming lessons.

Joe invites Ruben to stay as an employee of the community. Ruben illicitly uses Joe's office computer to follow Lou's activities, and learns she is performing music in Paris. He has his friend Jenn sell his drums and other music equipment, then sells his RV, using the money for cochlear implant surgery. Ruben asks Joe to loan him money to buy back his RV while he awaits activation of the implants. Joe refuses, saying that Ruben is behaving like an addict. He asks Ruben to leave the community, as it is founded on the belief that Deafness is not a handicap.

Ruben has his implants activated, but is disappointed by their distorted sound. He flies to Paris to meet Lou at the home of her wealthy father, Richard. Richard confides in Ruben that though he initially disliked him, he recognizes that Ruben made Lou happy. Lou has settled into her new lifestyle and has ceased self-harming. At a party at the house, Lou and Richard perform a duet; Ruben's perception of the sound is distorted by the implants.

When Ruben tells Lou he wants to return to their music, she begins scratching her arms. Ruben tells her all is well and that she saved his life. She tells him that he saved hers too. The next morning, Ruben takes his things and leaves while Lou is sleeping. In a park, the ringing of a church bell is distorted by his implants; Ruben removes his processors and sits in silence.

Cast

File:Riz Ahmed at the Rogue One - A Star Wars Story - World Premeire Red Carpet - DSC 0437 (31547570706) (cropped).jpg

Riz Ahmed portrayed Ruben Stone

• Riz Ahmed as Ruben Stone, a drummer who loses his hearing
• Olivia Cooke as Louise "Lou" Berger, Ruben's girlfriend
• Paul Raci as Joe, a late-deafened and recovering alcoholic who runs a shelter for deaf recovering addicts
• Lauren Ridloff as Diane, a teacher who helps Ruben learn American Sign Language
• Mathieu Amalric as Richard Berger, Lou's father
• Michael Tow as the Pharmacist

Production

Sound of Metal is directed by Darius Marder, who wrote the story with Derek Cianfrance and who also wrote the screenplay with his brother Abraham Marder. The film originated as the unfinished Cianfrance project Metalhead, which centers on a metal drummer whose eardrums are ruptured and he becomes deaf. The film featured the members of the band Jucifer portraying themselves. However, the project was later scrapped, until Cianfrance's friend Darius Marder took it up. In January 2016, Dakota Johnson and Matthias Schoenaerts joined the cast of the film, with Marder directing. In July 2018, Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke joined the cast of the film, replacing Johnson and Schoenaerts, alongside Mathieu Amalric. Before the casting, Marder had spent 13 years vetting actors who would match his commitment to the film.

A large number of the cast were hired from the deaf community. For eight months, Ahmed prepared for the film by spending two hours a day learning American Sign Language, two hours a day in drum lessons, two hours a day with a personal trainer and the remainder with his acting coach. Marder wanted Ahmed to "trust his instincts" and did not allow him to review dailies of his performance or script analysis.

Sound of Metal was shot in 24 non-consecutive days from early to late 2018. Marder operated on a limited budget, and shot only two takes per scene. The film was shot in the Greater Boston area, primarily in Ipswich, Massachusetts. However, other scenes were shot in Boston, Lynn, Cambridge, Danvers, Framingham, Lawrence, Malden, Rowley, and Topsfield. Filming also took place in Antwerp, Belgium.

Release

Sound of Metal had its world premiere in the Platform Prize program at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2019. Amazon Studios acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film the week following its premiere. It was originally scheduled to be released on August 14, 2020, before being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released theatrically on November 20, 2020, and began streaming on Amazon Prime Video on December 4, 2020. Sound of Metal will become a part of the Criterion Collection, with a Blu-ray and DVD release expected in 2022.

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average of . The site's critics consensus reads: "An evocative look at the experiences of the deaf community, Sound of Metal is brought to life by Riz Ahmed's passionate performance." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Sound of Metal received mostly positive reviews from critics. Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent gave the film four stars out of five and praised Marder's direction and Ahmed's performance. Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times found the film "underwritten and dramatically muted" but praised Ahmed's performance and Nicolas Becker's sound design. Mark Kermode of The Guardian praised the "astonishing verisimilitude" of the direction and called Ahmed's performance the best of his career. Peter Bradshaw, also writing for The Guardian, credited Ahmed with giving "the film energy and point" but was critical of other aspects, writing that "[the story] perhaps tries to do too much", and that it "telescopes a long story into just a few months." Empire critic Ian Freer praised the sound design and called the film a "powerful but sensitive exploration of a so-called disability that challenges perceptions and assumptions about loss of hearing in thoughtful but provocative ways." Rolling Stone journalist David Fear wrote that the film "immerses you in a noiseless world — but it's the star that makes it speak volumes loudly and clearly". Although enthusiastic about many aspects of the film, metal-themed website The Pit criticised the film's portrayal of metal music, stating that it is "the latest in a long line of Hollywood movies to use metal as a lifestyle that serious characters grow out of."

At the end of the year, Sound of Metal appeared on 52 film critics' top-ten lists for 2020 as the ninth highest-ranked film, including first place on five lists and second place on seven lists.

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
AACTA Awards	March 5, 2021	Best International Actor	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
Academy Awards	April 25, 2021	Best Picture	Bert Hamelinck & Sacha Ben Harroche	Nominated
		Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Darius Marder, Abraham Marder & Derek Cianfrance	Nominated
		Best Film Editing	Mikkel E. G. Nielsen	Won
		Best Sound	Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés Navarrete & Phillip Bladh	Won
Alliance of Women Film Journalists	January 4, 2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
American Cinema Editors Awards	April 17, 2021	Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)	Mikkel E. G. Nielsen	Nominated
American Film Institute Awards	February 26, 2021	Top 10 Movies of the Year	Sound of Metal	Won
Austin Film Critics Association	March 19, 2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Darius Marder, Abraham Marder & Derek Cianfrance	Nominated
		Best Editing	Mikkel E. G. Nielsen	Nominated
British Academy Film Awards	April 11, 2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Nominated
		Best Editing	Mikkel E. G. Nielsen	Won
		Best Sound	Jaime Baksht, Nicolas Becker, Phillip Bladh, Carlos Cortés Navarrete & Michelle Couttolenc	Won
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards	December 13, 2020	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Runner-up
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Won
Casting Society of America	April 15, 2021	Low Budget – Comedy or Drama	Susan Shopmaker, Angela Peri (Location Casting), Lisa Lobel (Location Casting), Emily Fleischer (Associate)	Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association	December 21, 2020	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Won
Cinema Audio Society Awards	April 17, 2021	Motion Picture – Live Action	Phillip Bladh, Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés Navarrette & Kari Vähäkuopus	Won
Critics' Choice Movie Awards	March 7, 2021	Best Picture	Sound of Metal	Nominated
		Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Darius Marder & Abraham Marder	Nominated
		Best Editing	Mikkel E. G. Nielsen	Won
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association	February 10, 2021	Best Picture	Sound of Metal	Runner-up
		Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Runner-up
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Runner-up
Detroit Film Critics Society	March 8, 2021	Best Picture	Sound of Metal	Nominated
		Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Sound of Metal	Nominated
		Best Use of Music/Sound	Sound of Metal	Won
Directors Guild of America Awards	April 10, 2021	Outstanding Directing – First-Time Feature Film	Darius Marder	Won
Gotham Independent Film Awards	January 11, 2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Won
Georgia Film Critics Association	March 12, 2021	Best Picture	Sound of Metal	Nominated
		Best Director	Darius Marder	Nominated
		Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Won
		Best Original Screenplay	Darius Marder & Abraham Marder	Nominated
		Best Original Song	Abraham Marder	Nominated
Golden Globe Awards	February 28, 2021	Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
Hollywood Critics Association	March 5, 2021	Best Picture	Sound of Metal	Nominated
		Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Won
		Best Breakthrough Actor	Paul Raci	Won
		Best Male Director	Darius Marder	Won
		Best Original Screenplay	Darius Marder & Abraham Marder	Nominated
		Best First Feature	Darius Marder	Nominated
Houston Film Critics Society	January 18, 2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Won
		Outstanding Cinematic Achievement	Sound of Metal (for its Immersive Sound Design)	Won
Independent Spirit Awards	April 22, 2021	Best First Feature	Sound of Metal	Won
		Best Male Lead	Riz Ahmed	Won
		Best Supporting Male	Paul Raci	Won
IndieWire Critics Poll	December 14, 2020	Best Performance	Riz Ahmed	Won
London Film Critics' Circle	2021	Actor of the Year	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
		Technical Achievement	Nicolas Becker (Sound Design)	Nominated
		British/Irish Actor of the Year (for body of work)	Riz Ahmed	Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association	December 20, 2020	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Runner-up
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Runner-up
Miami International Film Festival	March 6, 2021	Impact Award	Riz Ahmed	Won
Motion Picture Sound Editors	April 16, 2021	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Underscore	Carolina Santana, Nicolas Becker & Abraham Marder	Nominated
		Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Dialogue / ADR	Nicolas Becker, Carolina Santana & Michelle Couttolenc	Nominated
		Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Effects / Foley	Nicolas Becker, Carolina Santana, Pietu Korhonen & Heikki Kossi	Nominated
National Board of Review	January 26, 2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Won
		Top 10 Films of 2020	Sound of Metal	Won
National Society of Film Critics	January 9, 2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Runner-up
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Won
New York Film Critics Online	January 26, 2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Won
Online Film Critics Society	January 25, 2021	Best Picture	Sound of Metal	Nominated
		Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Nominated
		Best Debut Feature	Darius Marder	Nominated
		Technical Achievement Award	Sound of Metal – Sound Design	Won
Palm Springs International Film Festival	February 26, 2021	Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor	Riz Ahmed	Won
Producers Guild of America Awards	March 24, 2021	Best Theatrical Motion Picture	Bert Hamelinck & Sacha Ben Harroche	Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society	January 11, 2021	Best Picture	Sound of Metal	Runner-up
		Best Director	Darius Marder	Nominated
		Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Olivia Cooke	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Darius Marder, Abraham Marder & Derek Cianfrance	Runner-up
		Breakthrough Artist	Riz Ahmed	Runner-up
		Best Use of Music	Sound of Metal	Nominated
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle	2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Won
Santa Barbara International Film Festival	April 3, 2021	Virtuosos Award	Riz Ahmed	Won
		Variety Artisans Award	Nicolas Becker	Won
Satellite Awards	February 15, 2021	Best Motion Picture – Drama	Sound of Metal	Nominated
		Best Director	Darius Marder	Nominated
		Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama	Riz Ahmed	Won
		Best Sound (Editing and Mixing)	Phillip Bladh, Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés & Carolina Santana	Won
Screen Actors Guild Awards	April 4, 2021	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
Seattle Film Critics Society	February 15, 2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Won
		Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Paul Raci	Nominated
		Best Picture of the Year	Sound of Metal	Nominated
Set Decorators Society of America	March 31, 2021	Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a Contemporary Feature Film	Tara Pavoni and Jeremy Woodward	Nominated
St. Louis Film Critics Association	January 28, 2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Won
Toronto Film Critics Association	February 7, 2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Runner-up
		Best Screenplay	Sound of Metal	Runner-up
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association	February 8, 2021	Best Actor	Riz Ahmed	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Paul Raci	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Darius Marder, Abraham Marder & Derek Cianfrance	Nominated
		Best Editing	Mikkel E. G. Nielsen	Nominated
Writers Guild of America Awards	March 21, 2021	Best Original Screenplay	Darius Marder & Abraham Marder; story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance	Nominated
Zurich Film Festival	October 6, 2019	Best Film – International Feature	Sound of Metal	Won

See also

• List of films featuring the deaf and hard of hearing
• Safe listening

External links

• Official website
• Sound of Metal at IMDb
• Sound of Metal at Rotten Tomatoes
• Sound of Metal – Final Screenplay via Variety