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.

This was such a beautiful movie. The more I think about it the more I love it. There were so many layers that you don't even realize them all while you're watching it that make it so deep and beautiful. Peter Sarsgaard was seriously created for this part & Rashida Jones spoke so freely & honestly throughout that I couldn't help but feel empathetic in every one of her scenes. Can't wait to recommend this movie to all my film lover friends!

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.

This is an unusual movie in the sense that if you are not interested in the subject matter, I'm not sure you will gain anything here. There is nothing fancy big budget tricks to sway you in a cinematic experience but what they did here is very clever and if you like movies that make you aware of a formerly unnoticed thing, check this one out. I happen to enjoy the discussion of sound, music, patterns, and the unseen forces all around us. It is a very cerebral approach to something that we all never knew about: how the sounds around us might actually be affecting us. Talk about the elephant in the room! Peter Sarsgaard plays a man (also named Peter) making a map of New York City based on the different sounds of the neighborhoods. He had his three handy tuning forks (which can be seen on the movie poste there) which he uses to determine the frequency of an area, then assigning a musical key to the area. He makes a living by "reading" people's apartments to determine the sound of the ambient rooms and then telling the occupants how they can best shape the frequencies in the room to create a more harmonious living space. He discusses the sounds of appliances and he has even created devices of his own to counterbalance other sounds. It is really a very interesting concept and there is a lot of exploring to do there but that is not what makes this movie so captivating. Peter is trying to branch out with his abilities so he buddies up with a company that makes home products to help people relax by changing the smells and sounds of an environment, something Peter seems to immediately find tacky. And within conversations the world of Peters beliefs really open up. He does not believe that his "tool", his ability to confront the sounds of a space in a very unusual way, should be commercialized to the masses. I'll leave the rest up for you to discover. A really great performance by Bruce Altman as Harold, the man trying to recruit Peter to work for the big company. And of course Peter Sarsgaard in as solid as a performance as we know him for. Unfortunately I found the storyline with Rashida Jones' character Ellen to be really lacking in anything that provided a satisfying plot. Not to say she did a bad job just seemed like lazy writing to fill a full movie with, therefore her scenes really seemed uninspired. Also too many montages, I get it New York City is a beautiful symphony of sounds but once or twice is enough, more than that and i'm really not sure what I'm watching anymore. The somber piano soundtrack also was a little disheartening, lost the flow of the movie. I know that is a lot of complaint for something I rated 7/10 but all the actors really did a great job and it is very clear that once the director got more than one actor in a scene together really, honestly, some movie magic happened and it was hard to look away let alone be uninterested in the concept of these sounds and rhythms guiding our days in ways that we could not be aware. This movie is clearly about the sounds that shape our lives and resonate in us creating the people we are but with each discussion of this I feel a deep underlying notion trying to be made that sound is just the factor that it is possible to be aware of. That is we notice the sound, if we stop and listen we will undoubtedly notice a dozen minor sounds happening around us all the time but just imagine what else is there pushing us in all directions...society is a maliable entity and it's because it's made up of individuals and we are, like, 60% water. What do you think resonates very easily through water? That's right, sound. So sound is the starting point. There is a pattern there and I think once we are able to resonate with it completely something truly good will come of it. Be aware, take notice, and, of course, thank the filmmakers for making a good movie here, thanks

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.