Sound of Metal
Amazon Studios | Release Date: November 20, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
35
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Total FilmMatt MaytumApr 13, 2021
A small film that hits big, Sound Of Metal is a gem you’ll want to bang the drum for. Read full review
100
The TelegraphTim RobeyApr 8, 2021
Nothing about the sound in Sound of Metal is ordinary. Read full review
100
Original-CinKaren GordonNov 24, 2020
On the surface it’s a solid and and absorbing character study. But thanks to Marder’s script and masterful direction, and Ahmed’s beautiful performance, there are increasingly deeper layers that take this movie to a deeper place. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattNov 21, 2020
There's an intimately lived-in quality to the film that feels almost documentary. Read full review
91
ConsequenceClint WorthingtonNov 18, 2020
Sound of Metal is a film about loss and grief, and what we do with ourselves when our lives change irrevocably. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnSep 12, 2019
[A] mesmerizing debut ... Sound of Metal injects visceral, edgy circumstances with remarkable sensitivity. Read full review
91
The Film StageJared MobarakSep 12, 2019
This is a very personal story to Marder and it shows in the intricate ways he uses sound to place us within Ruben’s plight. Read full review
90
ABC NewsPeter TraversFeb 19, 2021
With Oscar buzz surging for Riz Ahmed, the time is now to check out his virtuoso performance as a rock drummer facing deafness in a riveting, resonant film whose thrashing power and emotional gravity exert a grip that won’t let go. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangNov 19, 2020
By zooming in and out of his protagonist’s consciousness, Marder casts aside any pretense of omniscience; he empathizes, but he also knows when to detach. Ruben’s journey is a privilege to witness, but it’s one he’ll ultimately have to walk alone. Read full review
90
Film ThreatAlex SavelievOct 20, 2020
Here’s a film so quietly visceral it can sear through metal, “quietly” being the keyword. Don’t come in expecting a no-holds-barred assault on the senses. Nor is this a metal music extravaganza. The bulk of the film is silent, deliberate. We are thrust inside Ruben’s mind to hear what he hears, a pulsating, muted nothing, which is then jarringly contrasted with everyday sounds when we’re yanked back out of his head. The sound mixing and editing are nothing short of phenomenal in Sound of Metal. Read full review
90
Screen DailyWendy IdeSep 12, 2019
This remarkably assured debut ... uses the medium of cinema to its fullest extent, both visually and aurally. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerNov 19, 2020
Most importantly, Marder gives the audience one of the most illuminating glimpses into deaf culture to date. Working with actors who are deaf is only part of it: The rest is in details and understanding. Read full review
88
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenJan 4, 2021
It’s a given that the sound design would be a crucial element in a film about a drummer who suddenly loses his hearing, but Sound of Metal is so artfully crafted on that front that it nearly develops a new way of experiencing a movie. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoNov 20, 2020
It’s a movie that doesn’t just allow for silence but thrives in it, with Ahmed’s eyes and body language charting the arc of his character. He doesn't miss a beat. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrNov 18, 2020
The final moments, however, are all Ruben’s, which is to say they’re all Ahmed’s, and the actor makes his character’s ultimate decision feel both hard won and achingly simple. Coming out toward the end of a year of great and terrible cacophony, Sound of Metal understands the gift that is hearing and the blessings of silence alike. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzNov 18, 2020
A movie perfectly engineered for home viewing. Particularly with the best set of headphones that you own. Read full review
85
Paste MagazineJoi ChildsOct 10, 2019
An experiment of sound design paired with a stellar lead performance makes for a captivating film. Read full review
83
The PlaylistCharles BramescoSep 12, 2019
Marder believes devoutly in the power of actors and acting, preferring to get out of the way and let them show their stuff. Ahmed returns the favor by delivering career-best work by a wide margin. Read full review
80
CineVueChristopher MachellMay 18, 2021
Sound of Metal is an astonishing accomplishment for both its long-nascent director and its British star, Riz Ahmed, for whom his turn as heavy metal drummer Ruben represents a career-best performance.c Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyApr 16, 2021
Marder, who co-wrote the script with his brother Abraham, sets out quite a stall with a drama that’s as visceral and hard-hitting as its protagonist’s drum solos. Read full review
80
EmpireIan FreerApr 7, 2021
A beautifully argued parable about the need to go where life takes you, Darius Marder’s debut thrives on the soul of Riz Ahmed and the bold creativity of sound designer Nicholas Becker. Together they make Sound Of Metal sing. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzDec 3, 2020
Marder uses sound and silence as essential character elements. He offers frequent, jarring contrasts between what Ruben hears and what we do. This isn’t just to emphasize what Ruben has lost. It’s also a reminder: Silence can be shattering. It can also be beautiful. And it can bring peace. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisNov 19, 2020
Propelled by a distinctive style and a potent lead performance, Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal builds a singular tension between silence and noise. Read full review
80
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaNov 18, 2020
A sensory overload, Sound of Metal is one of the most fascinating films you’ll see all year. Even when Darius Marder‘s lengthy character drama isn’t quite working – a problem that persists in the final act – it’s always engaging. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeSep 12, 2019
A film about the sudden onset of deafness that is too attentive to specifics of character and setting to ever feel like a rote disability drama. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 2, 2021
Although the arc of the story is quite conventional in terms of Ruben’s “stages of death and dying” journey, the script and Ahmed’s affecting, sympathetic performance make us cling to the same hopes that Ruben does, that he can recover some of his hearing, maybe enough to get some of his life back. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 23, 2020
Sound of Metal tells a story about coping and overcoming while avoiding the narrative pitfall of artifice. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsDec 3, 2020
The movie’s a little sketchy and underwritten, and it feels sometimes as if scenes have been pared away or cut altogether to concentrate on Ahmed. But Ahmed really is terrific. Director Marder has a knack for both observing and igniting human behavior, through character. And supervising sound editor Nicolas Baker’s work astounds, period. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanDec 2, 2020
It’s a small film made larger by Ahmed’s ability to take something so interior — hearing loss — and make it so visible, so palpable. Read full review
75
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeNov 22, 2020
The writing leaves some unanswered questions, which viewers may interpret either as frustrating or as a reflection of the protagonist, who finds himself rudderless when he loses his hearing. Either way, Ahmed’s performance goes a long way in holding the film together. Read full review
75
The Associated PressMark KennedyNov 19, 2020
Marder, who wrote the screenplay with his brother, Abraham Marder, takes far too long to get to his points in a sluggish middle but has crafted a quite lyrical tale of a man trying to find his way when everything he knows is taken away. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeNov 18, 2020
Sound Of Metal is nothing without its sound design. It’s a story about music and deafness—both auditory phenomena—and its success depends on being able to put you into the main character’s beat-up Converse. The film does accomplish that, thanks in part to its unique, first-person approach to sound. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleCary DarlingNov 17, 2020
While Sound of Metal doesn’t venture to unexpected places, director Darius Marder — working from a script based on a story by “Blue Valentine” director Derek Cianfrance — keeps it all rooted in a heartfelt reality. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineDerek SmithOct 20, 2020
Darius Marder’s film captures, with urgency and tenderness, just how enticing the residue of the past can be. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneDavid FearNov 19, 2020
Sound of Metal understands the importance of immersing you in this brave new noiseless world and giving you a compelling Virgil to guide you through it, but its real strength may simply be its powers of observation. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawApr 8, 2021
Ahmed’s performance clarifies the drama and delivers the meaning of Ruben’s final epiphany. He gives the film energy and point. Read full review
50
VarietyOwen GleibermanNov 18, 2020
Sound of Metal is two hours and 10 minutes long, and it moves at a snail’s pace, not because “nothing happens,” but because Marder hasn’t filled in the dramatic interior of what does happen. He has made a movie about deafness that’s at once experiential and too muffled to hear. Read full review
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