“The Sound of Metal,” directed by Darius Marder, is a movie that tells the story of Ruben Stone (Riz Ahmed), a young man in a heavy-metal band who loses his hearing. The film progresses through the many challenges he has in his life due to his hearing problems and how they affect him on an emotional and physical level. The film’s amazing audio design, realistic characters and unique perspectives make it an incredibly enjoyable experience.

My favorite thing about “The Sound of Metal” has to be the sound design. As the film progresses, it becomes eerily quiet as you see the world from Ruben’s perspective. Ruben’s usually jovial self slowly becomes grim and angry as his ability to hear dissipates, and you watch as he tries his best to put his life back together. The quality of the sound design in this movie is second to none, especially due to the many scenes which illustrate how strange it is to adapt to losing your hearing. When doing things such as making a smoothie, Ruben isn’t able to hear any of the noises, so in order to keep you immersed in the film, the only thing you hear are small vibrations in the counter. Small moments like this make the sound design great.

Another thing I really enjoy about “The Sound of Metal” is the surprisingly humble and down-to-earth characters. As someone who doesn’t typically listen to metal music, I previously didn’t think the people in these bands would be considered “normal” by society’s standards. However, my judgmental thoughts were quickly disproven because as soon as the first metal sequence ended, we see Ruben and his girlfriend living a seemingly average life. In my opinion, this makes Ruben’s hearing loss very interesting because we get to see how hearing loss affects an ordinary person. 

Watching Ruben meeting other deaf people with the same struggles as him is another part of the movie that I really enjoyed. It makes you understand that hearing loss is less of a disability and more of a different perspective on life. Seeing them interact with each other and helping out Ruben through his tough times were incredibly enjoyable, and I really appreciate the way that the director portrayed the deaf community in this part of the movie.

Overall, “The Sound of Metal” is a unique film that I’d recommend for anyone who wishes to watch something artistic and engaging. It does a great job of illustrating the struggles of hearing loss and it gives you insight into the life of a deaf person. Because of this, I highly recommend this movie.