The first time I ever heard of Riz Ahmed was when he appeared in the first Star Wars standalone film, Rogue One where he played Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook. The second movie I saw him in was Venom where he played the antagonist of the movie. In short, I haven’t seen him in any Oscar-worthy roles. So when I heard that he was getting praise for this new movie called Sound of Metal where he plays a drummer I thought to myself, “Really?” But…I was curious, so I decided to watch the movie.

Wow, wow, wow. Sound of Metal is honestly one of the best films of the year with an honest screenplay that feels like it was written by somebody who knew firsthand what the heck they were writing about.

The movie is about a drummer of a two-person heavy metal band who suddenly begins to experience severe hearing loss in both ears. What transpires over two hours is a very personal, very well-written look at accepting one’s self and embracing the challenges we may face with love and peace, not anger and fear.

Riz Ahmed’s performance as drummer Ruben was sublime. From the first second to the last you can feel his dedication to this role and his sincere understanding of the internal pain this character is going through during the duration of this movie. I found myself so moved by this movie and it’s simple message that spoke a thousand words. It’s message of self-love and accepting whatever happens day by day is a message a lot of people can benefit from right now when it may seem like the world is coming to an end.

And not only was the acting and writing in this movie really good but it was so immersive as well. The cinematography made it almost feel like watching a documentary of someone’s personal journey and the setting, heavily displayed in rural Missouri was absolutely beautiful.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about this movie. I would love it if it was recognized for Best Screenplay at the Oscars this year because the movie deserves it 100%. And of course, Riz Ahmed better not be snubbed at the Oscars because his performance was perfect. Absolutely perfect!

Could he win? Heck yeah he could win, but going up against the likes of Chadwick Boseman who’s very heavily favored to win a posthumous Oscar, I don’t know. I think if it was any other year he would totally be favored for the win because he was amazing but this year he’s just a bit out of luck.

All in all, do yourself a favor and watch this movie. It’s currently on Amazon Prime Video and it’s totally worth the viewing. I’m giving it 100 out of 100 and 5 out of 5 stars. It was really, really good,

I thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day.