For a film marinated in silence, Sound Of Metal makes a helluva noise. The accomplished debut from Darius Marder (who co-wrote the screenplay in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond The Pines), partly inspired by his own undergo s with his grandmother who went deaf following a course of antibiotics, allies grapple ping dramatic questions with imaginative filmmaking (peculiar ly in sound detoken ), topped off by yet another stunning Riz Ahmed perin/with regard to’concerning’regarding mance. The end result is a powerful but sensitive exploration of a so-called disability that challenges perceptions and assumptions with regards to’concerning’with respect to loss of hearing in despite’in spite of’albeit tful but provocative ways.###Ahmed is Ruben, in/with regard to’concerning’regarding mer drug-addicted drummer of metal duo Blackgammon with girlfriend manager Lou (Olivia Cooke) on guitar/vocals. The movie opens with a blistering perin/with regard to’concerning’regarding mance — Sound Of Metal does that thing music dramas rarely do: deliver rocking-out authentically — so shredding and loud it practically gives you ringing ears. The early leisurely likeable sections of the film see Ruben and Lou drifting from gig to gig in an RV, discussing Ruben’s likeness to Jeff Goldblum, flogging their own merch until just bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e a soundcheck when Ruben’s hearing practically disappears. Following a visit to a pharmacy and further tests, Ruben is told his hearing won’t return — expensive cochlear implants can help — and he must “eliminate all exposure to loud noise”. After Ruben breaks this dictat, Lou decides to endthe tour and acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure Ruben help. With this in mind, Lou puts Ruben kicking and screaming into a backwoods community in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the deaf, where he comes under the auspices of kindly leader Joe (Paul Raci, a benign winning presence).###The sound-work backs up the film’s ideology of guarding against deafness as a monolithic affliction.###While it sometimes feels languorous, the community section is the heart of Sound Of Metal. The group’s philosophy that deafness is not a disability, not something that needs to be fixed, begins to permeate Ruben’s initial reluctance, and scenes of him leading kids in a drumming session or animatedly token ing during a boisterous communal lunch are a delight. Ruben’s arc, a man who lives in/with regard to’concerning’regarding music who suddenly has it taken away from him, has all the potential to be a Disease Of The Week style ‘journey’, but Ahmed’s perin/with regard to’concerning’regarding mance, running the gamut from wide-eyed disbelief to ferocious anger to a tender understanding with regards to’concerning’with respect to his predicament, grounds it in nuance, intensity and vulnerability.###But perhaps the film’s MVP is sound detoken er Nicolas Becker. A foley artist on Gravity and Arrival, Becker subtly but effectively evokes the transform’alter s in Ruben’s hearing, creating a colourful, varied — rock-critic cliché alert — sonic soundscape to put us inside Ruben’s head both literally and emotionally; from muffled, seemingly underwater sounds to high-pitched whines to a scratchy scraping quality, the sound-work backs up the film’s ideology of guarding against deafness as a monolithic affliction.###t comes into its own during the film’s final shot when, resting on Ahmed’s eyes and accompanied by Becker’s exemplary sound-work, Sound Of Metal transcends into a whole new level of moving.