Bohemian Crip Watches Movies: The Sound of Metal

 

It’s a rare film that could rest in an actor’s eyes, especially a male actor like Riz Ahmed, but Sound of Metaldoes just that, while reminding your Bohemian Crip that, as much as she may be down with solidarity across conditions, she actually relies on her hearing quite a lot.  This makes the silent patches feel rather long, even if the cinematography was pretty beautiful throughout.  It can be quite emotional watching a character process not-hearing, though I did wonder how that feels to a deaf audience. We watch as a recovering-addict drummer in a heavy metal band faces the loss of his hearing…it’s almost as if we watch it happen, though we don’t, of course.

I wondered if a lot of what I saw was real, although we all know that even those “ Based On A True Story” sometimes cheat quite a bunch so they can freeze-frame on a high note.  My googling didn’t find a real deaf heavy metal drummer, but I did hope that people who are new to hearing loss would have the community and support featured in the midpoint of this film.(I’ve always felt some envy of the deaf community’s common language and ability to build a culture, at least in theory.(Maybe the film idealizes, though and wrote it how they wish it would be—all writers, especially with disabilities, have done it.

Like I said, apart from some silent bits making your correspondent restless, this is a rare touching film that doesn’t manhandle the heartstrings. I would recommend it overall, if you want something to think about as you’re watching.  The characters stay with you, especially the lead and his girlfriend Lulu, especially during the scene where they break up.