dark mofo: sound of metal
- Kaylah Chilcott
- Jun 12, 2025
- 5 min read
— Please note this review will contain spoilers for SOUND OF METAL —
— Trigger warnings: addiction and self harm —
-- Thank you dark mofo for providing me with the opportunity to attend --
SOUND OF METAL, Directed by Darius Marder, showed at State Cinema on Thursday, 5th of June, as part of Hobart’s annual Dark Mofo festival. The theatre itself was quite intimate, so I sincerely apologise to the person who sat beside me, and hope my scrawling was not too distracting.
SOUND OF METAL WAS FIRST SHOWN AT THE 2019 Toronto International Film festival, before being released in theatres and Amazon Prime in late 2020. The film centers around Ruben Stone (Riz Ahmed), who played drums in an avant-garde punk duo, Blackgammon, with his beloved partner, Lou (Olivia Cooke). Ruben begins to suffer from hearing loss and relive previous demons.
for a lot of the film, Ruben is on a rollercoaster that won’t stop, no matter how hard he denies it had even started. WITH HIM, WE explore love and heartbreak, addiction and desire, community and stillness. His relationship with Lou is complex, their van once filled with chatter and devotion becomes full of fear and rage once Ruben’s hearing declines. the Blackgammon tour they had planned, now in limbo. EVEN Colour seems dull, AS THE audio switching between what Ruben hears, and the hearing world.
Ruben meets Joe (Paul Raci), who takes him into a shelter and helps him try to see that his new life is not something to fix, but just a different way of living. That life with deafness is just as fulfilling as any other.
ruben can either accept his hearing loss, or fight to pursue his music and life with Lou.
Sound of Metal can be confronting at times. As someone who attends a lot of gigs, and spends a lot of time with musicians, I relate closely with what Ruben is working through. It challenges you to consider not only how we treat our bodies in these environments, but also how we view disabilities, even those acquired through poor decision making.
People who may suffer addiction, or have been affected by someone who did, will likely find it a more challenging watch. While it does not display active drug use, Ruben slowly begins to mirror behaviour harmful to himself and others.
Thankfully, it is very humorous, at times even using deafness to its advantage. at one point, a group of people are sitting around a table for dinner, silently signing to each other and laughing. When it enters the hearing audio, they are slamming plates and cups down like crazy, creating a world of racket.
There are many scenes when Ruben is with the deaf community, where I would have preferred to hear the same things he did. as a hearing person, sometimes it was a struggle to imagine what it may be like, but I do understand that for hearing audiences it may have been a less stimulating watch if this were the case.
My only other criticism was the name of the film (and I KNOW this is a silly gripe) - the duo was more of a punk band. I believe the choice of the word ‘metal’ in the title was deliberate, appealing to a wider audience, and when Ruben has his implant to regain his hearing, the machine is translating the outside world. They did do their research, as Ruben is often wearing punk band shirts - such as Youth of Today, GISM, and Einstürzende Neubauten (Fun fact: They performed at Dark Mofo in 2018). I have to admit, I am happy to see that it wasn’t just well known acts like Crass or Black Flag - they dug deeper.
Riz Ahmed and Paul Raci were easily the standout actors, every inch of emotion etched into their faces, tone and movement. Both of their characters felt real, with tiny things, like Ahmed turning to read the translator when Raci talked, and the gradual tears coming to Raci’s eyes as Ruben is in his darkest moment.
As for final thoughts before the recap, I definitely enjoyed the film more on a rewatch. You learn to love Ruben as he is and who he was and what he can be, watching his life change and a new path begin. Whether you’re into music or not, Sound of Metal is a heartbreaking film for everyone to LOVE.
— Spoilers below —
This isn’t the first time poor choices have dominated Ruben’s life and taken control. We quickly discover that Ruben is a heroin addict, who has been clean since Lou entered his life four years ago. Lou suffered her own demons, catching a glimpse when Ruben pulled her hand away from scratching her self harm scars. For a day, all is normal, their RV full of life, continuous conversation, playing music and simply enjoying each other's company.
When his hearing goes, Ruben insists that cochlear implant surgery will restore it, once they have the money. His sponsor locates a shelter, with other deaf recovering addicts. He resists when he learns Lou cannot stay with him. She decides to return home to her father, knowing that Ruben’s state of mind will impact her own, putting them both on track to return to past struggles.
Desperate to keep Lou, Ruben agrees to go to the shelter, run by Joe, a Vietnam vet who lost his hearing during the war, but it was the resulting alcoholism that tore apart his family. At first, it is difficult, Ruben does not know sign language, relying on written words and body movements to understand what is going on. He is welcomed with open arms. It takes time, but he begins to learn sign language and develops bonds within the deaf community, realising their lives are as full as any other, and he finds his place among them. Joe challenges him to sit with his deafness, confront his situation head on by finding stillness. He is unable to do so.
His behaviour begins to turn, secretly using Joe’s computer to find out where Lou is, deciding to sell all his equipment and RV to pay for his surgery, desperate to return to their life. He returns to Joe after the procedure, asking for money to buy the RV back and more time to stay until the implant activation. Joe denies him, as he’s displaying behaviour akin to someone in active addiction. He tearfully asks ruben to leave the shelter, for the protection of the others.
Ruben stays in a hotel, until his implants are activated, but They did not restore his hearing as he expected. Sound is fractured, loud, things are hard to hear. He finds Lou, who is living in her father’s home in Paris, and he is again surrounded by people he can't understand. The night he is there, there's a party and he is isolated. unable to proficiently read lips, and the implant making it impossible to function with all of the noise. When he brings up the idea of returning to the Blackgammon album and tour, Lou’s hand starts to subconsciously scratch her wrist.
The canyon opens and Ruben realises they’d been walking on either side.
Ruben departs the following morning, finally having enough of his implant, and discovers the stillness.
