IN HIS BOOK Where God Happens: Discovering Christ in One Another, Rowan Williams writes, “We are easily persuaded that the problem of growing up in the life of the spirit can be located outside ourselves.” In other words, we like to think if only it weren’t for a health problem or professional situation, our lives would be better. If we put off becoming the person we are called to be because we’re waiting for the “right” circumstance, then we won’t learn and grow. Even when circumstances need to change, we must find joy in the present.
This same lesson powers Darius Marder’s drama Sound of Metal, about a drummer, Ruben (Riz Ahmed), who’s suddenly affected with permanent hearing loss. Ruben’s journey underlines the importance of presence and its potential to foster spiritual growth. He must learn that the situation he is in presents an opportunity to embrace a new community and a more intentional life.
Ruben and his girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke) are members of a heavy metal duo. When the film begins, they’re happily cohabitating in a trailer, living gig to gig. Ruben’s hearing loss puts a stop to this and threatens to resurface the addictive patterns that defined his earlier life. This leads Ruben to a community for deaf people in recovery, led by Joe (Paul Raci), a deaf recovering alcoholic. Ruben is fixated on getting cochlear implants so he can return to his life with Lou. Joe tries to help Ruben understand that his new reality gives him the chance to live a different life in a supportive setting where he can thrive.
Through Ruben’s changing attitude and loving relationships with his new community, it’s clear he’s where he should be. Ruben, however, must discover this for himself. He starts in a place of frustration and fear, then moves to a belief he’s finally attained what’s required to return to his old life, only to realize that life is no longer what he needs.
Joe describes the silence he lives with to Ruben as “the kingdom of God,” providing a stillness that gives him peace. Throughout the movie, Marder uses sound design to take us inside Ruben’s experience, and when he finally receives his implants, the staticky result is overwhelming. In the final scene, Ruben shuts them off, and we join him in a silence echoing the tranquility Joe describes. We leave Ruben having finally understood the importance of engaging with his life as it is, not as he thinks it should be. It’s a lesson we all contend with: to allow God to work through us where we are, and grow into the people God wants us to be, even when that looks different from our expectations.
Abby Olcese is a freelance film critic and writer based in Missouri. You can find her on Twitter @abbyolcese.
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