Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is a noise metal drummer. Shirtless and intense, he hammers out ferocious sets with his girlfriend and bandmate Lou (Olivia Cooke). But with each show, a persistent ringing in his ears worsens until sound drops out altogether. For a deaf musician and his partner who’ve built their precarious existence doing what they know and love, what happens now? If he can’t recover his hearing, who will he become? Marder’s assured debut moves in new directions, and according to its own beat. As this drummer explores medical interventions to restore his hearing and begins to learn about both the experience and the culture of deafness, he confronts the gap between external sounds and the tinnitus he can’t shake. The sound design is incredible, making us feel what it’s like to have the sound of metal ringing in our ears. As the story takes one surprising turn and then another, it builds a journey that looks – and sounds – like life.