The Sound of Silence

Greetings again from the darkness. "Turn that down!" Those are words we all hear when growing up and then repeat as our own kids come of age. Noise pollution rarely receives the same attention as that of air or water, and most of us are startled when we find ourselves out in the country - an environment lacking the everyday electronic, power cell, and human-generated noises we have come to accept and ignore. Director Michael Tyburkski and his co-writer Ben Nabors have expanded their 2013 short film PALIMPSEST to feature length, so that we might hear their point.

Peter Sarsgaard stars as Peter Lucian, a so-called "house-tuner". Peter has turned his life's work into an occupation where he visits his clients' homes and identifies the imbalances and problem areas caused by sound. For example, his clients may have relationship issues or experience exhaustion from poor sleep. Peter uses his exceptional hearing and experience to identify an 'out-of-tune' radiator or buzzing toaster, with the expectation of improving the clients' daily life. The premise is actually quite fascinating, especially for the city dwellers of New York City ... a place Peter has meticulously plotted and charted sounds on a map over the years.

And yes, you are correct. Peter is a bit lonely and isolated from society. His interactions are exceedingly low-key and mundane, though it's quite obvious in the early scenes that he take immense pride and pleasure from his work. Well that is, until he can't seem to solve new client Ellen's (Rashida Jones) issue. These first few scenes are the best the film has to offer. The additional scenes with Peter and Ellen seem forced, almost formulaic, as it slips into possible relationship mode for two people who don't seem comfortable at all in the world. The other piece of this puzzle has to do with Peter's quest for acceptance by the scientific community, specifically his mentor Robert Feinway (the always fun Austin Pendleton). Tony Revolori (THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL) plays Peter's assistant Samuel Diaz, and screen veteran Bruce Altman plays an investor who wants to monetize Peter's work.

"Silence is not empty, but immeasurably full." It's this type of philosophy that the filmmakers use to add weight to Peter's work. They keep us guessing as to whether he is a bit of a Savant ... or more of a crackpot. It's a high concept and ambitious idea accompanied by sound design that provides a constant tone/ringing that is sometimes faint, and sometimes prevalent. More of Peter's early sound detective work would have proved more interesting, but you'll likely find yourself a bit more attuned to the sounds around you after watching.

One interesting effect of watching this film was that I kept wondering, "Is this a real story?" There's a feeling of accompanying the characters completely, like when watching real-time documentary footage. So I give The Sound of Silence big props for achieving utter non-contrivance. There's funky feel to the character tensions that's reminiscent of Beautiful Mind.

I personally love the premise and the resolution, though these get somewhat lost to the intensity of the city setting. On the other hand, that same setting makes the "bad guy" (commercial development) more ominous, so ultimately the setting is a fine choice.

It is indeed a slow film, but what it suffers from more are some confusing editing and scene choices that muddy the characters and story a bit.

I would recommend seeing this. It's very interesting, kinda funny and weird, but pleasant. I know a lot of people who always feel exhausted by modern life. I could parallel lots of the sonic issues with those of modern day wifi and wireless radiation that is probably affecting us more than we know. Whatever, it was a fun and interesting flick and we really enjoyed it. Acting and editing and sound were great. I would have liked to see more about the romance and would love to hear from the other academics in the movie if they thought the main character was nuts or legit. I may have to watch this one again to gain more insight. It's solid.

People mention the dark colors and busy any working people and dreary weather of NY... well guess what, that is exactly what the movie was going for,

This was a unique movie which won't entertain the masses but will def. entertain those looking for a unique movie about something that is real.

5.9

I liked the premise a lot. I was hooked from the start and was just expecting more from the writer. A character arc that goes somewhere. A human story behind the whole thing. A parallel between Ellen's anxiety and Peter's own quirkiness or past. Surely, there must be a skeleton in his closet, some weird stuff that happened to him as a child that got him so obsessed with sound. Alas, none of that materialized. The whole story turned into one big "B-FLAT." As flat as Kansas towards the end. Or maybe it was a bit too dark and low-key for me. However, I must say the premise of the film really piqued my interest and caused me to think. I actually have get stress from my apartment and always knew there was something that was causing it. This film opened my eyes and made me very self conscious of "sound" around me. Overall, it's a good flick.