The History of Sound (2025)

Film Details

A BFI London Film Festival Screening

Director: Oliver Hermanus

Run Time: 128 mins

Cast: Paul Mescal, Josh O’Connor, Emma Canning, Hadley Robinson, Chris Cooper, Briana Middleton

Synopsis:

Two young men during World War 1 set out to record the lives, voices and music of their fellow countrymen.

My Review

Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor’s electric chemistry takes the audience on a wonderfully tragic journey of self exploration and romance. Subtly touching upon themes of sexuality, PTSD and oppression during the early 1900’s. The film abstains from lecturing the audience, but instead spark’s conversation by allowing us to embrace those difficult subjects on our own terms, without being overwhelmed with obnoxious sub text. But at the forefront of this film is a story of love, for each other and for a shared passion of music and that in itself presents some of the most beautiful aspects of human nature and how, throughout history, we have used both of those things to form the pillars of our communities. This creates some of the most precious moments in the film, both men capturing the songs of country folk, caught up in the happiest moments of their lives. 

The cinematography was a display of grandeur, utilising grounded tones to provide an organic feel to the frames, crucial in making a period piece such as this, feel incredibly real. Realism was clearly the intent of Oliver Hermanus, reaffirmed by the films conclusion, which felt like a switch to a non-fictional story, it had me sold, as I furiously began the search to find the real Lionel Worthing, which of course, did not exist! There were slight pacing issues in the final act, but for the most part, this was a captivating love story and one of my favourite romance films for a while now! Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor continue a fine run of form, choosing great scripts that allow them to flourish as actors. 

My Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Thanks for reading.

Film Review Club