Sound of Metal 4K 2019 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

Blackgammon is the name of a punk-metal band put together by drummer Ruben and his war buddy Lou. For a rocker, Reuben, a former drug addict who had given up his addiction, is too focused on a healthy lifestyle; however, it's better not to be immune to illnesses, like to fate and imprisonment. While performing, he suddenly hears that the drums do not produce the trademark sound, but a muffled hum. This is the first symptom of imminent hearing loss. So Reuben goes to the secluded abode of people with deafness to learn to be deaf himself.

Review 4K Movie

The film tells the story of the drummer (Riz Ahmed) of a fairly successful metal band and his girlfriend, a vocalist. Both have been through a lot: she attempted suicide and he got rid of drug addiction. Their fragile world begins to fall apart after our protagonist (Ruben) unexpectedly starts to hear badly before a concert, and later he loses his hearing altogether. And what follows is a process of struggle and acceptance as we have to learn to live again in the new realities.

"The Sound of Metal" almost immediately plunges the viewer into a situation in which the hero stops hearing. I began immediately projecting this situation onto myself. The horror of losing one of the basic senses that we don't really think about and take for granted is exacerbated by the sound design. The director's chosen approach evokes fear and discomfort, but through it, we are able to experience what Reuben feels, walk the path with him, perhaps learn something and get out of his world for a little while.

Until the middle of the film, you watch the character's emotional progression. Despair and anger, struggle and fear, acceptance and peace. We see before us a living man with his flaws. His story doesn't pity or squeeze an emotion out of you. The director wants to honestly and unvarnished tell the viewer how life is for deaf-mute people, to tell what they have gone through, that they do not need to pity and show their sympathy. They are just like everyone else, they were able to accept their situation and be happy.

But, unfortunately, structurally, the picture begins to sag in the middle of the second act, and the main leitmotif blurs and loses consistency. Speaking without spoilers: certain decisions by the main character raise questions about the logic of the narrative.

After the finale, two feelings remain. The picture achieves its catharsis, but a feeling of heaviness and incompleteness never left me. Such is the paradox.

An uncomplicated but important film that speaks to things rarely covered in movies. Without the Hollywood theatricality and drama for drama's sake, where everything has answers and necessarily a happy ending. It's a quiet movie in itself, with Riz Ahmed giving away the best work of his career so far. The picture rests entirely on his shoulders. And it confidently holds the viewer's attention, being a bridge to a world in which people have lost something important in their lives, but have been able to find the strength and courage to move on.