The History of Sound – British Film Festival Review
Sometimes, a movie can have an intriguing, emotion driven premise, fantastic performances, stunning cinematography and direction, and still not entirely work. For the romantic-drama, The History of Sound, the amount of talent in front of and behind the camera screams the potential for a moving portrait of love and longing against its period setting, but somewhere along the way, the film sadly just lost interest in trying to do something a little bit different.
Set in the midst of America’s growing involvement in the First World War, two students, Lionel (Paul Mescal) and David (Josh O’Connor) meet in a pub and bond over an admiration for folk music, and not before long, having sex with each other. But, as their romance grows, David is drafted into the war, leaving Lionel, who is ineligible for the draft due to issues with his eyesight, alone back in America. Constantly being brought together and torn apart over the years, Lionel and David must live their lives with the longing of a young love they once had, as life goes on around them.
Told in a very patient, slow-moving way, director Oliver Hermanus’ intention seems to be to have the audience brood in the longing and desire that Lionel and David feel by really stewing in the time they are forced to spend apart from one another, which is something that is definitely exacerbated by the strong, sexual romance they share at the start of the story. However, the incredibly slow pacing has diminishing returns overall, as the film feels like it plods along more than creating that feeling of longing.
Another reason the film feels long is because the actual story of the film doesn’t take any narrative risks to make it stand out from other romantic dramas about desire and longing. In fact, the story plays it safe by retreading a lot of familiar beats, especially the more emotional ones, that have been done before. The same can be said about Lionel and David as characters. They feel real, they feel lived in, but they also don’t feel unique to this film. Their love for music is a connector between the two, and is used incredibly well later in the film to really drive some hard-hitting emotional moments home, but there isn’t too much more underneath the surface.
In saying that, both Mescal and O’Connor – both actors who are dominating the space at the moment – do a lot with the minimal character substance, bringing a heart-breaking authenticity to their characters, and to the chemistry between the characters. Both physically and emotionally, it genuinely feels like Lionel and David are intertwined, and the soft masculinity on display brings forth a tenderness that makes it quite easy to connect with their romance. Even in the majority of scenes where they are apart, the longing and desire that is at the forefront of the film intensely comes through the performances.
The History of Sound is also a visually beautiful film, with Hermanus utilising the period setting to showcase some wonderful set and production design, costuming, and scenery to always have something visually enticing on the screen. The beauty of the surroundings acts as sort of a cruel object of difference to the heartbreak that the characters go through, but also reminds the audience of the beauty of life. Hermanus uses the camera incredibly intimately to really allow the actors to use their faces to portray the emotion when words aren’t needed, and that works in favour of the overall emotional investment into the film.
The History of Sound is an emotional, heartbreaking, and romantic experience of a story, with Hermanus’ visually beautiful direction and Mescal and O’Connor’s intimate performances working well to invest the audience into feeling the longing and desire of this romance. It’s just unfortunate that the overall journey is a slow, plodding experience that will pull the audience out of all the film’s strengths.
The History of Sound played at the 2025 British Film Festival, and is in Australian cinemas December 18
