STORYLINE- A heavy-metal drummer’s life is thrown into freefall when he begins to lose his hearing.
REVIEW- This is a heavy screenplay film. Not in the sense of dialogue, but rather the description and what is happening. I haven’t seen the screenplay or anything like that, but you can tell. Darius Marder directed this exceptionally well. He co-wrote with Abraham Marder, and the story is by Derek Cianfrance, so he has a great sense of what he wants to convey. Through tone, sound, and what is shown on screen, he hit everything right.
The only thing I would like to fix with the writing and directing is some of the pacings. The film’s focus is on the quiet, tender moments. Sometimes this means there’s not much happening. It’s smart to have this, but the film can feel slow at times. I don’t know where it could have used the most cuts, but a little bit could’ve been helpful.
Besides the acting, writing, and directing, sound design is one of the shining achievements. The whole film is beaded around sound. But the way they edited and mixed everything puts you in Ruben’s headspace. You are becoming hearing from him. Then there are moments where we hear what is happening as a non-deaf/hard of hearing individual. Those moments of realization aid in the experience.
Now there’s a decision made by Ruben, and it’s part of what we can hear with him. I’m so glad we could be part of that. The only time something like that has been done was in the TV series Undone. The sound design here is so spectacular that it could win a majority of the sound awards. If there’s one thing you can take from this film, the sound is a virtue.
