The History of Sound
Director: Oliver Hermanus
Writer: Ben Shattuck
Based on: his own short story
Cast: Paul Mescal, Josh O’Connor, Raphael Sbarge, Molly Price, Chris Cooper
Seen on: 1.5.2026

Content Note: suicide, (critical treatment of) homomisia

Plot:
Lionel (Paul Mescal) meets David (Josh O’Connor) in a bar. Lionel is a singer, David collects folk songs. Their connection is instant, and their relationship deepens quickly. But World War I sees David becoming a soldier, and Lionel returning to his family’s small farm, separating them. After David returns, he invites Lionel on a trip to collect more folk songs. Lionel eagerly accepts, and the two rekindle their connection.

I have to admit, I saw the cast of the film and that it was queer, and I didn’t really think much further than that before making the decision that I wanted to see it. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t really keep the promises of its cast.

Going into the film, I was prepared (by the time it is set in and the desaturated color palette) that we would get some tragic queers here. I was willing to go through that yet again, hoping for some tearjerking moments and beauty in tragedy. Unfortunately, the film stays way too unemotional for that too work. In fact, the only scene where we get the kind of sadness and tragedy I was hoping for is pretty early-on in the film, when David goes to war and Lionel has to say good-bye to him.

Other than that, the film remains surprisingly cold towards its characters, and those characters remain surprisingly personality-less. It still works to a certain extent for the most part because both Mescal and O’Connor have great presence on screen and nice chemistry with each other.

But the real heart of the film is the music that seems to suck up most of the available emotions and use it for its own purposes. Although I have to say that the music of The Testament of Ann Lee left a bigger impression on me. Still, I enjoyed the music here, and I found David’s and Lionel’s treck through Maine also interesting from a historic perspectice.

That being said, I pretty much hated the ending that left Lionel alone. Would it have been any less poignant if he had a partner in the background? I don’t think so, and it would have shown us some lasting queer happiness – something the film needed after all.

Summarizing: sigh.