Olivia Cooke

SOUND OF METAL: seeking anything but stillness

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Riz Ahmed in SOUND OF METAL

In Sound of Metal, Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is a heavy metal drummer who suffers immediate and severe hearing loss, complicated because he’s also an addict who has been clean for an uneasy four years. He and his guitarist girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke) have been barnstorming through a series of one-nght engagements in their Airstream RV. Ruben is emotionally devastated, and Lou, fearing his relapse, drops him off with drug counselor Joe (Paul Raci) at a twelve-step residence within an all-deaf community.

Ruben may not be using, but he may not be “in recovery”, either. His sobriety hangs on a scaffold of performance, Lou, healthy exercise and constant travel. When his musicianship is snatched away by hearing loss, he panics. The very idea of deafness paralyzes Ruben with terror.

Ruben cycles through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, escape and resistance. Will he get to acceptance and redemption? Joe tells Ruben that he needs to attain the ability to sit with himself in stillness, but Ruben wants anything but that.

Sound of Metal is a super intense ride, but there’s a payoff. The powerful ending is perfect. Director and co-writer Darius Marder follows Billy Wilder’s advice – don’t stick around.

Riz Ahmed’s totally committed and gripping performance as Ruben will likely garner him an Oscar nod. In thinking about his performance days later, I realized that Ahmed was convincing as Ruben played heavy metal, as he veered in desperation and as he mentored deaf children with gentleness and humor.

At one point, I said, “he’s acting just like an addict” seconds before Joe says something like “From where I sit, you’re acting like an addict“.

Ahmed is one of those actors who is good in everything he’s in, whether it’s a broad comedy (Four Lions), a political drama The Reluctant Fundamentalist or a psychological thriller (Nightcrawler and Una}.

Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke in SOUND OF METAL

Olivia Cooke, so good in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Thoroughbreds, is okay here as Lou. In the first part of the movie, she’s unrecognizable with unflattering bleached eyebrows.

Paul Raci, an actor who became fluent in ASL to communicate with his deaf parents, is just a perfect delight as Joe. I’m suspecting that this character actor/musician (he has a Black Sabbath tribute band) will get more movie work after this turn.

The French actor/director Mathieu Amalric is absolutely superb as Lou’s father. Amalric is a big deal actor who is cast in a lot of prestige films (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), and I am usually indifferent to him. But here, he absolutely nails a character who is comfortable in his own skin, wise enough to discern what is going on with others less experienced than he and willing, with patience and gentleness, to let life play out. His character is a guy who probably hasn’t gotten to where he is by being kind, so his kindness is a choice.

The brilliant, Oscar-deserving sound design brings us to experience what Ruben can hear and not hear. Make sure that you watch this film on a system or device with excellent sound. Walter Murch will appreciate this movie (which is very high praise from me.).

Sound of Metal is one of my Best Movies of 2020. It is streaming on Amazon (included with Prime).

THOROUGHBREDS: which of these girls is the most sociopathic?

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THOROUGHBREDS

The psychological thriller Thoroughbreds is a witty and novel exploration of sociopathy.  The story is about two teen daughters of the Connecticut super-rich:  Amanda (Olivia Cooke – so good in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) and Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy).   Although the girls have known each other since early childhood, it turns out that Amanda’s mom, at her wit’s end, has paid for a “play date” with Lily.  This seems like a mismatch, but the two bond and then scheme to murder Lily’s odious step-father, Mark.

Amanda admits that she doesn’t feel emotions. That being said, she is very perceptive and self-aware about her lack of feelings.  Although she has an Asberger’s affect, she has learned to mimic emotional behavior.   Amanda has shocked the community with a disturbing act and has been socially ostracized.

Lily, on the other hand, is at first glance a normal teen – normal for the over-privileged, that is.  It turns out that she has her issues, too.  In the film’s biggest understatement, one girl says to the other, “empathy not your strong suit”.

Thoroughbreds is the writing and directing feature debut for Cory Finley.   Although it has its obvious similarities to psychological thrillers in the vein of Strangers on a Train, this film is not so much about the plot as an exploration of these two personalities   Finley has taken two types of sociopaths and combined them into a very original match-up.  For example, one of the girls is definitely a very high-functioning borderline personality – but she’s not the one who has been diagnosed as such.

As we are immersed in the story, we focus less about whether they’re going to kill Mark and more on which girl is more disturbed.

Both Cooke and Taylor-Joy deliver fine performances.  The late Anton Yechin appears in a very funny role as the Connecticut suburbs’ bumbling bottom-feeder.

Paul Sparks is excellent as the repellent step-dad Mark.  In Mark, Finley has crafted a character who excels in business and his many hobbies (riding, tennis, kendo), each of which he pursues obsessively.  He is the only character who has a very clear and accurate analysis of Lily’s personality.  Mark is the guy who outsiders would see as a high-achiever in many fields, even though he’s gone beyond the pale with his mega-rowing machine and monthly juice purges.  But once we see his domination and control of Lily’s mom and the creepy sexual undertones of his relationship with Lily, we want him to go.

I had been eager to see Thoroughbreds since I first watched this deliciously noirish trailer.  It was worth the wait.  Thoroughbreds is a very promising calling card by Cory Finley.