Sound of Metal

I first watched Sound of Metal a few weeks before correcting my vision with laser eye surgery. Anything more than a few inches from my face was an intangible blur without glasses. After the movie, I started to question my choice to get LASIK. I worried how my vision would be after surgery. Would it be worth it? What if my vision was only worse, too bad for glasses or what if I lost color? Maybe I should just live my life correcting my vision with glasses and be thankful for what I have. Even though this film got into my head and made me overly empathetic, I still went through with the procedure and as of 6 weeks later, am very happy with the results of my vision. But Sound of Metal isn’t about sight, but exploring and accepting a new world without sound. For a musician and former addict, that is easier said than done. 

Riz Ahmed stars as Ruben, a heavy metal drummer and former heroin addict. Music and his girlfriend, Lou (Olivia Cooke) has been keeping him clean and happy for the past four years. But suddenly Ruben starts to lose his hearing, at a rapid rate. Doctors tell him the hearing he’s lost won’t come back, but he could hear with implants and that he has a responsibility to protect and preserve what little hearing he has left. In response, and probably in denial, Ruben plays a show that night. When he tells Lou what’s happening, she knows this life altering moment could send him spiraling down darker paths, so she finds him help. They meet Joe (Paul Raci) who runs a rehab center for the deaf and tries to help Ruben. Reluctant at first, Ruben adjusts to his hearing loss, learns sign language and finds his feet in this new home. But thinking it will bring his life back to the way it was, Ruben desperately wants to get the implant surgery, even if it means selling everything he owns and rejecting the help of his new friends. 

The sound in this film is phenomenal and helps the audience understand Ruben’s sudden hearing loss. We hear his morning routine once, the buzz of a blender, coffee percolating, then the next morning we hear it as Ruben suddenly does, muffled so it is nearly inaudible. These audio details and lack there of help us empathize with Ruben, understand his frustrations and brings the world of the deaf community to life. I especially love the scene with Ruben drumming on the slide, how we hear what he and the kid hears, and then it cuts to far away to how an onlooker might hear their interaction. Later in the film we hear how the world is after the implant is activated and that is one of the most eye-opening sounds of my life. The sound of that church bell nearly made me cry. It’s what made me question whether lasik was worth the risk, which I realize is completely different, but I knew I’d rather be dependent on glasses rather than seriously ruin what was left of my vision. 

The acting in this film has few big, dramatic or explosive moments. Ruben violently smashing things the morning after his hearing loss worsens is powerful, but not nearly as moving as the tortured control Ahmed brings to calmer scenes. There are so many great moments of frustration and rebellion that are expressed stoically, drawn inward so as to not to raise alarm. Raci’s Joe is a very placid, yet no-nonsense character. He has the feel of an authoritative hippie. And as Raci throws sign language on top of his dialogue, a skill he’s acquired in real life, it often provides extra emotion to his character. It’s wonderful to see these actors nominated for such deserving roles. 

Sound of Metal has been nominated for six academy Awards, including Best Picture. Riz Ahmed is nominated for best lead actor in his role as Ruben. Paul Raci is nominated for best supporting actor for his role as Joe. The other awards include best sound, original screenplay and film editing. All in all, this is all very prestigious, especially considering this is Darius Marder’s directorial debut. 

There’s so many wonderful things going on in Sound of Metal, from the compelling story, great acting and masterful use of sound, I could go on all day. I keep coming back to Ruben’s obsession with wanting to hear again and I get it, it must be incredibly hard to move on and live a life suddenly without one of your major senses. The grief can be too much to accept. But on the other side of that coin, I hear Joe reminding Ruben that being deaf isn’t the end of the world. And this movie helps those outside of the deaf community understand it a little better and appreciate our all too delicate gift of hearing.

“As you know, everybody here shares in the belief that being deaf is not a handicap. Not something to fix. It’s pretty important around here. All these kids… all of us, need to be reminded of it every day.”

Children of a Lesser God

Through high school, I volunteered in my little brother’s Sunday school classroom, specifically helping a young boy who was partially deaf.  Every week from his first grade through fourth grade, I sat by his side helping him with his work so that he could complete his sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation with the rest of the class.  I didn’t have any training for this, we just had to wing it and learn naturally from each other.  That first year felt like a struggle nearly every week, I don’t think he liked me, or the thought of someone helping him, for a while.  By the end of fourth grade there was a connection and gratitude between the two of us.   I remember moments where he felt so different from the rest of his class and others where he surprised all of us, including himself.

In Children of a Lesser God, William Hurt plays James, a new speech teacher for a small group of teenagers in a school for the deaf.  With his excellent credentials and energetic teaching methods, he quickly becomes a hit with both his students and the staff.  He starts to notice the one person who doesn’t want anything to do with him, Sarah (Marlee Matlin).  She is a custodian who was once a very bright pupil at the school.  Sarah does not speak and refuses to learn when James offers to teach.  James tries to just be friendly with Sarah, and he eventually falls in love with her.  As their relationship progresses, things turn into an emotional power struggle where James does not realize how he is trying to change Sarah and hold her back from the world at the same time.

There are two main themes of this film, love story and deaf issues.  It isn’t long into James and Sarah’s relationship that we realize James does not know how to deal with both themes at once.  Living with a deaf woman makes him feel guilty listening to his Bach records with her around.  His job is to teach the deaf to speak, but Sarah becomes quickly offended when James accidentally tries to get her to read his lips.  It’s hard for James and Sarah to be equals with James feeling like he has to walk on eggshells and Sarah feeling like she isn’t equipped to be her own person.

The deafness becomes a barrier between the two, and James is just trying to bluntly force his way though.  It does not work like that.  They have to find a common ground, as James puts it, “Do you think there’s someplace where we can meet that’s not in silence and not in sound?”

This was Marlee Matlin’s film debut and she became the youngest person to receive an Oscar for Best Actress.  Her portrayal of Sarah is so intelligent and insightful, yet very raw and honest.  Though Hurt’s character is casually interpreting her sign language for us, we see the emotion before the words and immediately understand.  There is so much intelligence behind Matlin’s expressions and her eyes show a much deeper soul than I have come to expect from films in the 1980s.  And when she dances, she feels the same drum, but shows us a new smoother step.

One of my favorite scenes in the film is the class’s performance during the school’s open house.  Think about ‘80s music, it was an image that teenagers could all find common ground with.  While these kids are deaf, we learn that music isn’t completely lost to them.  James teaches the kids the words and they find the beat.  Their performance isn’t about musicality, but the ability to express and be a part of music, where most people would count these kids out.  The confidence James instills in the kids just radiates out of them and we celebrate the performance with them.

While Children of a Lesser God is mainly a love story about balance and acceptance, I found myself most connected with Hurt’s character while in his classroom.  Sadly, I have not seen my old pupil in over five years.  He would now be about the same age as James’s students in the film.  While I taught him about our Catholic rituals, he taught me about patience, acceptance and communication.  And I think today he would love to sing and dance to Boomarang.

“That’s the first sign I ever learned!”

Johnny Belinda

The story of a deaf woman being raped sounds like a bad Helen Keller joke.  Now that we’ve cleared that air, let’s not go there.

Johnny Belinda takes place in a peaceful fishing town in Nova Scocia.  It’s your typical small town, where everyone knows everyone and newcomers, like Dr. Robert Richardson (Lew Ayres) are subject to idle gossip.  Right away we see he’s a kind and generous man, who even makes a house-call in the middle of the night to help birth a baby cow, for the McDonald family, who his secretary warns, might not be able to pay.  He discovers Mr. McDonald’s deaf-mute daughter, Belinda (Jane Wyman) and takes immediate interest.  He teaches her sign language and it turns out she’s a quick learner.  Before long, she’s able to read her family’s lips and communicate like never before.  How happily life changing.

Just because she’s learning, doesn’t mean she’s free from ridicule.  She’s referred to as “the dummy”, pitied and laughed at by most.  She becomes a lewd interest of the town’s good ol’ brute, Locky.  His girlfriend, Stella warns him to leave her alone, not realizing the extent of his ill intentions.  After getting drunk at a town party, Locky stumbles over to the McDonald residence and rapes poor Belinda.  It all would’ve gone unnoticed and quiet, but she ends up pregnant with his child.  Once this scandalous news hits the village, rumors arise about who they suspect the father is.  The whole family is avoided like lepers and business drops mixing financial struggles to their heartbreaks.

Jane Wyman won the Oscar for best leading actress, without saying a word.  She stares with big innocent eyes that light up with understanding and unforeseen intelligence.  She doesn’t try to overcompensate for lack of words, like a silent film star.  Her sign language isn’t flamboyant either, she’s calm, obedient, and understanding.  The only time we ever see fear or conflict is just before her attack and in the more climactic action.

I was surprised to see such daring themes of rape and disability vs intelligence in the forties.  I don’t mean to generalize, but this seemed to be the time period for rallying war films, sweeping romances and giddy comedies.  Hard subjects like this must’ve averted quite a few eyes.  But those daring the trip to the theater must’ve been enthralled.  Many times today we still question if a disabled person can take care of a child, and that comes up in the later part of the film.  I’ll let you witness the debate with fresh eyes.

This isn’t one of those great classics everyone talks about, but it is good.  If you’re interested in deaf issues, this is a great example with many edges.  If you’re looking for a lighter film, skip it.

“There’s only one shame, failing a human being who needs you.”