SXSW 2021: SOUND OF VIOLENCE Review – Bold Directorial Debut Doesn’t Always Hit the Right Notes
Michelle Swope
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Starring Jasmin Savoy Brown, Lili Simmons, James Jagger
Written by Alex Noyer
Directed by Alex Noyer
I was familiar with the term synesthesia, which is when different senses intersect and become associated with each other, like when you see colors when listening to music. This type of synesthesia plays a major role in Sound of Violence, which premiered at this year’s SXSW Festival. Written and directed by Alex Noyer in his directorial debut, the film is inspired by Noyer’s short film Conductor. Over the past year or so, I’ve seen a few updates and teasers for the film on Noyer’s social media, which piqued my curiosity, so I was looking forward to checking it out in the Midnighter’s section of SXSW. Ultimately, Sound of Violence left me feeling very conflicted.
Sound of Violence follows a young woman named Alexis, in a remarkable performance from Jasmin Savoy Brown, known for the TV series The Leftovers and the upcoming Scream (2022). We first meet Alexis at age ten and learn that she lost her hearing due to circumstances that are not explained. Alexis’ mother (Dana L. Wilson) is explaining to her daughter that her father (Wes McGee) has recently returned from military duty and is apparently suffering from PTSD, which leads to an uncomfortable dinner scene. Later in the evening, Alexis is awakened by screams and finds her father brutally killing her mother. In an attempt to save her mother, little Alexis bludgeons her father, and the sound of his skull cracking causes Alexis’ hearing to return while she sees bright bursts of color all around her. This is the first time Alexis experiences synesthesia, and the experience is euphoric.
When we see Alexis again, she’s grown into a young woman who wants to be a musician and teaches music classes in her spare time. Alexis and her best friend Marie, played by Lili Simmons, are roommates and it’s soon evident the two women are attracted to each other. Other than sharing a brief kiss later in the film, their romantic relationship, which would have added depth to the story, is never explored. In fact, the characters in Sound of Violence, including adult Alexis, are very two dimensional, which makes it almost impossible to feel anything about the carnage that ensues. The only exception are the scenes of young Alexis witnessing the murder of her mother, which are heartbreaking.
Alexis believes she is making experimental music that the world will embrace, but in order to complete her masterpieces of beats mixed with sounds of violence, she needs to kill someone. She’s also addicted to synesthesia and needs to make music intertwined with violent acts to get her fix. One of her first victims is a homeless man, who she kidnaps and takes to a warehouse where she drugs him and ties him to a contraption, hooked to speakers and microphones, that would make Jigsaw proud. Although the increasingly bizarre ways Alexis murders people get major points for creativity, Sound of Violence feels a lot like an entry in the Saw franchise. One of the most insane, but intriguing murders occurs when Alexis uses a theremin to make a guy’s head explode. If you’re not familiar with the theremin, I have to recommend seeking out the magical music created by the incredibly talented artist Armen Ra, who I’ve been a fan of for years.
One of the things Sound of Violence does well is the cinematography, especially the spectacular, color-drenched sequences of Alexis experiencing synesthesia. This film is shot beautifully, including the way we see how Alexis views the world, and even the sometimes-absurd murder scenes. Unfortunately, the suspension of disbelief required to fully enjoy this film becomes even more elusive once Detective Sonya Fuentes (Tessa Munro) shows up at the first murder scene. Detective Fuentes looks at the death device used to kill the homeless man and immediately points out where speakers were plugged in. How does a detective have the musical knowledge it would require to recognize such things? The detective also makes a comment alluding to the fact that the police are aware these murders have been happening for a long time and the fact that none of this is ever explained is one of the biggest problems with the story.
Eventually, Alexis’ roommate Marie becomes worried about Alexis’ alarming behavior and, looking for answers, she goes into her room where she finds a recording of Alexis as a child torturing another child in the orphanage she was sent to after the murder of her family. When Alexis realizes that Marie listened to the recording, she knows that regardless of her feelings for her, Marie will be her next victim.
Sound of Violence begins with the remarkably compelling concept of synesthesia, and the style of the film is impressive, but there are several things missing that would have made the story, and characters, more relatable for the audience. Alexis’ synesthesia is an addiction and she’s obviously suffering from mental illness and PTSD, but none of these themes are fully developed, which makes it very difficult to feel any sort of empathy for Alexis.
Sound of Violence is a bold directorial debut and I hope to see more films from Noyer in the future. I will admit that the death by theremin sequence is one of the most unique kills I’ve seen in a horror movie. Jasmin Savoy Brown is a gifted actress, but this film presents Alexis as a robotic, obsessed serial killer desperately searching for her next fix, which left me wanting to see her talents fully utilized to give Alexis some humanity. She isn’t capable of exhibiting any human emotions, not even the love she feels for her roommate Marie. The fact that a lot of the over-the-top murders make this feel like a Saw sequel, the unexplained police involvement, and not addressing Alexis’ mental illness and addiction alienate the audience, and ultimately, the notes that play out in Sound of Violence fall flat.
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Sound of Violence
Summary
Sound of Violence is an impressive directorial debut, but not acknowledging addiction, mental illness, and empathy, causes the film to ultimately fall flat.
