The silence treatment

The first five minutes of Sound of Metal, filled with the raw sound of rage played out in a punk rock concert, will unsettle audiences. But that cacophonous beginning is an appropriate starting point for the story of one man’s journey to find peace amid tragedy and the pangs of addiction.

The movie, streaming on Amazon, centers on the life of Ruben, a punk rock drummer and recovering heroin addict who’s been clean for four years.

British Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed (Rogue One, Jason Bourne) brilliantly portrays Ruben, who travels the country gypsylike with co-dependent girlfriend Lou, played by Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One). Together, Ruben and Lou make up a midlevel punk rock band, Blackgammon, and dream of fame.

All seems well until Ruben begins to suffer rapid and irreversible hearing loss. As he faces the end of his music career, Ruben’s life unravels. Concerned he may relapse, Lou convinces him to seek help within a deaf community that also serves as a rehab refuge for recovering addicts who are hearing impaired.

Joe (Paul Raci), a deaf Vietnam veteran and a recovering alcoholic, runs the organization. Ruben is desperate to solve his hearing problem, but Joe attempts to teach him there is nothing about his hearing that needs “fixing”: Instead, he should seek peace in solitude and learn to embrace his new reality.

The film hints that the peace Joe exudes is likely spiritually anchored. In one scene he tells Ruben the moments of real peace he finds in his times of stillness are “the kingdom of God.”

Director Darius Marder uses two film techniques that allow audiences to experience more fully Ruben’s anguished journey. First, Marder employs a methodical pace that contrasts with Ruben’s fidgety restlessness. Second, he uses sound to allow audiences to hear at times exactly what Ruben is hearing (or not hearing). This technique is particularly effective in the film’s final scene that suggests, in both sight and sound, Ruben may have finally made peace with the silence (and possibly even with God).

Sound of Metal, rated R, contains strong language, some sexual content (a scene showing a drawing of a nude female), and portrayals of drug use consistent with its punk rock setting. That said, Christians who watch this film may benefit by seeing themselves, to some extent, in Ruben—maybe not in his drug addiction, but in an inner restlessness that desires the world’s noise and acceptance more than the peace that comes from being still and knowing God is God (Psalm 46:10).

As Mother Teresa once said, “God is the friend of silence.”