Thanks to the performance

 

At this year’s Oscars, the movie Sound of Metal - a Belgian co-production - was awarded with two statues for Best Sound and Best Editing. Actor Riz Ahmed propels the film’s story forward with an impressive performance as Ruben Stone, a formerly addicted metal drummer who loses his sense of hearing and joins a community of deaf people. 

In this short piece, I want to pay tribute to the work of actors, musicians and other performing artists alike. Ahmed’s contribution to Sound of Metal is an example of such work. Through his portrayal of the main character in the film, Ahmed shows us what it means to surrender to a subject and bring emotions to life. Those abilities are qualities that we generally attribute to accomplished performers.

A new language

Of course, performance isn’t simply a matter of losing yourself in the moment and doing whatever comes up. Without attracting too much attention to the fact, Ahmed’s performance actually displays a whole set of hard skills that few people possess. He learned how to play the drums for the part. The role required the British native to speak an American accent. On top of that, the actor needed to familiarize himself with a new language altogether, namely sign language.

Performing artists willingly dive into areas that many of us would never consider exploring. In doing so, artists are able to portray a side of life that can be very valuable for us to experience as an audience. In an interview with talk show host Stephen Colbert, Ahmed says:

“You start off watching a character that you feel like you can’t relate to and is so different to you. At the end of it you realize that there’s a kind of core of emotion and humanity that we all share.”

While preparing for the movie, Ahmed was initiated in the deaf community. It’s amazing to learn what the actor took away from that experience of being in contact with deaf people: “There’s a saying in the deaf community that hearing people are emotionally repressed because we hide behind words. We use words to mask our true feelings.” Later, he goes on to state: “I learned sign language but I also learned what real communication is, what real listening is, from the deaf community. And I’m so grateful for that.”

Gratitude

I find it unfortunate how we seem to lack the proper instruments to express our gratitude towards artists that move us. I was blown away after watching Sound of Metal, but I felt quite unable to offer a form of appreciation. Sure, we can buy a copy of the work, purchase the t-shirt or join the fan club. Still, it feels as though our selective praise for some chosen few can hardly amount to the abundance of powerful artistic expressions we encounter. This text should be seen as a very humble compensation in that regard.

Promoting the film, Riz Ahmed did a video call with actor Joaquin Phoenix. At the end of their conversation, I was surprised how clearly Phoenix spoke of his admiration for Ahmed’s performance. In a way, this is something we can all do nowadays over social media - to communicate a sincere thanks to a performer, in whatever form. It may carry another weight coming from a famous Hollywood actor, but that shouldn’t stop us all from taking the time.

Sound of Metal will be shown at Festival International du Film de Mons on July 10 & 11. Have fun at the movies!