Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Sound Of Metal 

This is a phenomenal film! This is heartbreaking, mind blowing, incredibly acted, eye opening and mesmerizing. Riz Ahmed delivers what is truly not only his best performance of his career but one of the best performances of the entire year. The film delves deep into the emotional and psychical struggle of loosing one’s  hearing and then eventually going completely deaf. It also tackles the question how do you go about your life after the hearing is gone its a massive adjustment yes but do you live with not being able to hear ever again or try to fix what you have lost. The film takes that very question and charges at it with such honesty and realism. Back in 2017 when I saw the Florida Project I said the film had a documentary kind of filmmaking style to it that felt like it wasn’t acting or pretend by any means. That style of realistic filmmaking is exactly how the Sound Of Metal feels like also because their were moments where you see Riz Ahmed’s character after he has lost his hearing completely and is now speaking through sign language to the people in the house he is living in or even playing games outside all of that felt so natural and real. It had me engaged all the way through from Darius Marder’s genius direction and writing to the truly mesmerizing performance given by Riz Ahmed. This is easily one of the best films of the year and one of the most gripping films I have seen in a long time. 

Firstly, The style and look of this film is brilliantly done! It is captured beautifully in the cinematography by its ability to show the anxiety and sheer emotional stress Riz Ahmed’s character feels constantly throughout the film. Then you have another great contribution to the films style and ability to truly stand out is from the sound mixing and sound editing. The way the film uses its sound in the film is genius and I am not just  saying that I honestly mean that because since the entire film centres around the main character loosing his hearing at an incredibly rapid speed we the audience hear first hand the numbing sounds and ringing in his ear through the sound editing. It is outstanding because the only other film to use sound to this extent was Whiplash back in 2014 but not even Whiplash went as far as this film does in terms of using its sound to express the story. We the audience are constantly in his ear we hear what he does 24/7 so we get a taste of what that would be like for someone and its heartbreaking at times because since we can hear what the character is hearing in his ears we hear the total and utter scared look in his eyes of not wanting to loose his hearing and his constant struggle and its sad but for Darius Marder to use the sound in this way is truly next level in terms of how you can use sound to immerse the audience into the story. 

Secondly, The performance given by Riz Ahmed is an  emotionally engaging performance that will break your heart into pieces. Riz Ahmed gives the performance of his career delving into deep emotional depths that looks and feels genuine from him and their is not one moment you are not engaged into what he is delivering onscreen. It is a performance that will have people talking long after the film is over. Then you have Olivia Cooke who gives a fantastic supporting turn in this film she is not in the film as much as I expected but for the screen time she does have she lights up the frame with her charismatic energy and raw emotion. Another great performance that should not be overlooked Paul Raci gives this gentle and tender performance that is emotionally sincere. He’s fantastic in the film as he plays the anchor for Riz Ahmed’s character as he really helps keep his feet on the ground and keeps giving him hope its a performance that I hope people don’t overlook as he’s great in the film. Overall all the performances in the film are fantastic but its Riz Ahmed’s performance that will rattle you to your core. 

Lastly, Sound Of Metal is a gripping, gorgeously shot and brilliantly acted film with truly genius direction and writing from the great Darius Marder. It stands out from its ability to capture a simple story in a very real and genuine way that is heartbreaking but also hopeful by the end. Anchored by truly outstanding performances from everyone involved but the stand out being Riz Ahmed who gives a career best performance that lights up the screen. The emotion is genuine and you feel every drip of passion In the filmmaking brought to the screen. Sound Of Metal is eye opening and brilliant film that will have you wanting to rewatch the moment it is over. 

A drummer’s life changes when he starts loosing his hearing

Rated R : language throughout and brief nude images 

Riz Ahmed : Riz Ahmed gives an electric leading performance! Riz Ahmed has been delivering amazing performances over the years from the Night Of, Nightcrawler and the criminally underrated Sisters Brothers. Here he delivers what I think is the best work of his entire career. He takes on the role of a drummer who then goes deaf and struggles to come to terms with his new situation. The way he depicts someone loosing their hearing is so genuine and authentic as their was not a moment I didn’t believe him as through his fantastic ability to convey such raw emotional depth to the character and spark it to life onscreen I couldn’t look away. He brought this rawness to him through the delivery of the dialogue as when he spoke you could feel every word hit you like a punch in the chest. He fully immerses himself in this character their are parts where he may not even be speaking and you can feel the heartbreak through his eyes and he says so much by saying so little when you first see him reacting to loosing his hearing the sheer look of sadness and absolute terror on his face makes your heart shatter and I keep saying that because its true. You see him trip over his words and stutter to try to keep up with the conversation because he is taking this all in and is truly terrified of what will happen to him. We see his personal struggles throughout this film in a very real way that never felt glamorized or sugar coated whatsoever he goes through the darkest places and comes to terms with his hearing by the end and you see the emotional sincerity in his heart and its felt through every frame of this film. I cannot stop saying how amazing Riz is in this film it truly is one of the finest performances of the year and a performance that deserves a ton of award attention. He as I said took the role head on and showed so many emotional layers of himself in an emotionally realistic performance that did not feel acted. He sowed us his heart and poured so much of himself onscreen through this performance. Riz Ahmed is a revolution and a gives a tour de force performance that will have you amazed by the sheer emotional intensity he is bringing to the screen. 

Olivia Cooke : Olivia Cooke delivers a performance that is unlike anything she has ever done. Now I loved her work in Thoroughbreds a performance of hers that is massively overlooked. She has given great work over the last few years but this performance really stands out due to the emotional layers she peels through this film. She plays the girlfriend of the main character now she isn’t in the film as much as I thought she would be. I thought her performance was going to be more of a leading role but it actually was a supporting role and even though she not in the film as much as Riz for the screen time she does have she blowed me away. She brings this truly frightened and concerned look to her character as she is trying to look out for his best interest due to his health and you can see in her eyes she cares so much for him and will do whatever it takes to make sure he is okay. When she speaks you feel the emotion and it comes from such a real place too as she has this look in her eye that she could break down into tears any moment but dose not because she has to stay strong for him. It is a performance that Olivia is firing on all levels of emotion we have seen before in stuff like Bates Motel but she really digs into some deep emotional depths that light the screen up. She is so emotionally charged in the performance of this character and you can’t take your eyes off of her she’s truly fantastic and this performance shouldn’t go overlooked its a strong emotional performance that will have you gripped the whole way through. A truly great supporting turn from Olivia Cooke. 

Darius Marder : Darius gives a beautifully heartbreaking film that is a genius directional debut! I have loved his screenwriting for years as he did one film before this not that he directed but that he wrote. That film is the criminally underrated The Place Beyond The Pines which I thought he brought amazing depth to those characters and amazing structure to the story that blew me away. I always thought what his first directed film would be like and what he does with Sound Of Metal is freaking amazing. As he takes what is his first shot at directing and blows it out of the water because he has proven already that he can write a strong screenplay now he has proven he can direct a film brilliantly too. He brings this story to life in such an authentic and real way that did not feel like acting or pretend. The way he writes dialogue in this film is so genuine that you can feel the rawness of each frame and its sheer beauty. He takes what is a simple plot about a drummer who progressively looses his hearing and he shows the emotional stress that a person would go through in that situation and he never glamorizes or sugar coats anything he shows it for how it is. he shows the absolute fear one would have if they lost their hearing and the question what would you do in order to try to get it back. He answers all these questions in a very real way and on top of the absolutely knockout performances from his entire cast he really has crafted an emotionally honest and realistic story that is shown through such raw realism. Darius has brought a film that will be talked about for years and studied as well what he brings with Sound Of Metal is genius and I cannot wait to see what he directs next because this is outstanding work from a directing point of view and a story point of view as well Darius you gave incredible work on this film.