We tend to take our 5 senses for granted. So imagine Ruben’s reaction (played by a wonderful Riz Ahmed) when he starts to lose his hearing. When we first meet him, Ruben is happily playing the drums with his metal band. Then out of nowhere, the sounds just disappear. It’s a terrible thing to experience, and we’re right there with him,  experiencing what he experiences, hearing what he hears, and as much as it can be disturbing at times, you won’t be able to take your eyes off the screen. Credit Riz Ahmed for letting it bleed, delivering the best performance of his career so far. “Sound Of Metal” is a tense and exhausting movie to watch, but it’s also very gripping. Given the built-in drama that comes with this difficult journey, writer-director Darius Marder and his collaborators try to take a matter-of-fact approach to their material, but their film is also filled with emotions. They want to explore the impact of this ordeal on our hero’s career and relationship, and the outcome is not always what you might expect. Few performers could  pull something like this off, which is why Riz Ahmed’s performance will remain one of the best I’ve seen in 2020. Same goes for the movie.