Music was his world. Then silence revealed a new one.
Overview
Metal drummer Ruben begins to lose his hearing. When a doctor tells him his condition will worsen, he thinks his career and life is over. His girlfriend Lou checks the former addict into a rehab for the deaf hoping it will prevent a relapse and help him adapt to his new life. After being welcomed and accepted just as he is, Ruben must choose between his new normal and the life he once knew.
Ratings
Curator score: 9.1/10
IMDb: 7.7/10
Letterboxd: 4.21/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Metacritic: 82
TMDB: 7.7/10
Director
Darius Marder
Production
Flat 7, Ward Four, Caviar
Cast
Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci, Lauren Ridloff, Mathieu Amalric, Domenico Toledo, Chelsea Lee, Shaheem Sanchez, Chris Perfetti, Bill Thorpe, Michael Tow, William Xifaras, Rena Maliszewski, Tom Kemp, Elan Sicroff, Jeremy Lee Stone, Ezra Marder, Hartmut Teuber, Hillary Baack, Joe Toledo
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A deeply immersive drama that turns hearing loss, addiction recovery, and identity crisis into something tactile and emotionally precise. It’s especially strong for viewers who value performance-driven storytelling, sound design as narrative, and endings that feel earned rather than engineered.
Best for
fans of intimate character studies
viewers interested in disability representation
people who appreciate innovative sound design
audiences drawn to recovery and redemption stories
fans of restrained, emotionally honest dramas
Skip if
you want a conventional music-industry rise-and-fall story
you prefer fast-paced plots with lots of external conflict
you’re looking for a feel-good inspirational movie
you dislike ambiguous, quietly devastating endings
Overview
Sound of Metal is one of those films where the form and the feeling are inseparable. Ruben’s world doesn’t just change in the story; it changes in the way the movie lets you hear, or not hear, what he hears. That makes his panic, denial, and eventual acceptance feel immediate rather than symbolic.
Worth noting
Riz Ahmed gives a remarkably controlled performance, full of frustration, shame, and stubbornness without ever tipping into melodrama. The film is also unusually thoughtful about community: it doesn’t treat deafness as a problem to be solved, but as a lived reality with its own culture, rhythms, and dignity.
Bottom line
What lingers most is how unsentimental the movie is about healing. It resists easy catharsis, yet still finds grace in adaptation, patience, and the possibility of a different kind of life. It’s a painful film, but not a hopeless one.
Top Letterboxd reviews
carter (5★) · 23772 likes
I don’t think I can remember a time where I didn’t hear it.
The ringing.
The noise nobody but me could seem to hear. I couldn’t stand it. I had no idea what it was at first, but it was loud, and it was getting louder. I told myself it would just go away, but even back then I don’t think I believed myself.
When I was nine it got worse, I was having hearing problems, so I told my… more
David Chen (4.5★) · 14760 likes
There's a moment about 10 minutes into this film when Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is at a hearing specialist's office. The specialist is explaining to him that the majority of his hearing is gone, and all his efforts at the moment should be dedicated to preserving what's left.
The film smash cuts to Ruben performing at another metal concert that very night, seemingly disregarding the specialist's advice. It's a stunning depiction of that innate human desire to maintain normality -- to… more
Lucy (4.5★) · 9484 likes
AFI 2020: film #5
"today is not a good day”
one of the most devastating parts of life is not being able to get back to a happiness you once had, especially if it involves people you love. feeling that joy slipping through your fingers, time cannot rewind and only moves forward, and without your consent. relentlessly, painfully. adapt or die. this is a crushing look at that fight against time and change, but it's also hopeful, and eventually peaceful. the sound design was incredible and the hardcoded subtitles were such a smart move. one of the most essential and fitting movies of 2020
Muriel · 7241 likes
everyone already knows how hard both the sound design and riz ahmed’s performance fuck so i’m just going to say this: olivia cooke’s bleached eyebrows
Syaoran (4★) · 6901 likes
The ending of this film is so authentic and impactful. I could not ask for a better one.
A devastating subjective drama that uses form to place you inside a disorienting lived experience, with a similarly intimate focus on loss and identity.