Direction: Oliver Hermanus
Country: USA
South African helmer Oliver Hermanus, best known for the dramas Beauty (2011) and Living (2022), returns with The History of Sound, a bittersweet love story between two men bound by their passion for folk music in early 20th-century America. Based on two short stories by screenwriter Ben Shattuck, the film unfolds in sepia hues and dusky textures, yet takes too long to develop, ultimately struggling to find the emotional perspective and dramatic momentum necessary to fully engage.
The story follows Lionel Worthing (Paul Mescal), who leaves his family farm in Kentucky to pursue his dream of becoming a folk singer. At the New England Conservatory in Boston, he meets David White (Josh O'Connor), whose passion lies in collecting folk songs from rural communities. The two are involuntarily separated by World War I, reconnecting in Maine two years later, only to drift apart once more after a year of unanswered letters.
While the narrative remains frustratingly superficial—technically polished yet dramatically inert, most of the film feels trapped in repetition, particularly during the musical interludes, which tend to weaken rather than deepen the emotional current. Hermanus’ direction is elegant and controlled, but also strangely hollow, leaving key emotional threads to dissolve into the surrounding fog. Hermanus and Shattuck clearly approach the material with sincerity, yet the result rarely cuts deeply. Likewise, despite the undeniable talent of Mescal and O’Connor, neither is given the opportunity to deliver truly memorable work here. It’s a disappointing outcome.
