After reading Ben Shattuck’s short story collection, Oliver Hermanus’ adaptation of “The History of Sound” quickly became one of my most anticipated releases of 2025. But reality did not live up to my expectations.
The History of Sound follows Lionel (Paul Mescal), a singer from Kentucky, who goes with David (Josh O’Connor) on a song-collecting trip through post-World War 1 Maine. According to the movie, Lionel and David were in love. So in love, in fact, that their relationship haunts Lionel years after their trip.
The only issue is that the film doesn’t really show you that, which is somewhat shocking, considering the film was written by Shattuck himself.
I was expecting the tender, sweeping romance that I had read last year. Instead, I got some glimpses of the story I had come to love so much, for example, David picking up the feathers that had fallen out of Lionel’s pillow and stuffing them back in when he wasn’t looking. But these moments, albeit sweet, were small, subtle, and not enough to fill a two-hour movie.
Lionel and David’s relationship takes place during the first half of the movie, and what a wonderful first half it was. Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor have delightful chemistry and make beautiful music together. But after their song-collecting trip, David is gone entirely from the film, taking the soul of the story with him.
The second half of the film follows Lionel as he tries to make a life for himself. Occasionally, he is haunted by the lack of David, but none of the flashbacks invoked any emotion in me personally. Though Lionel lives his life as if something, or rather, someone, is missing, Mescal’s performance just gives off a man who is unhappy with his job.
The short story has 12 other companion pieces; while they are not always connected plotwise, they are interconnected through themes of grief and remembrance. While the film and the book are different kinds of media, I feel as if the film version of The History of Sound would’ve benefited from a similar format. Or at least some other kind of story woven into the dreadful second act.
While the second half didn’t work for me, I will say, without spoiling, that the last 10 minutes were enough to win me over emotionally. In short, The History of Sound plays the romance safe, which is enough sometimes, but wasn’t sufficient for me.
The History of Sound is playing in theaters on September 12.
(Feature photo courtesy of Mubi)
