The History of Sound (dir. Oliver Hermanus)

by Jack Martin | Jan 25, 2026

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 128 mins

UK Distributor: Universal Pictures

UK Release Date: 23 January 2026

WHO’S IN THE HISTORY OF SOUND?

Paul Mescal, Josh O’Connor, Chris Cooper, Molly Price, Raphael Sbarge, Hadley Robinson, Emma Canning, Emily Bergl, Briana Middleton, Gary Raymond, Alison Bartlett, Michael Schantz

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Oliver Hermanus (director, producer), Ben Shattuck (writer), Lisa Cuiffetti, Andrew Kortschak, Sara Murphy, Thérèsa Ryan and Zhang Xin (producers), Oliver Coates (composer), Alexander Dynan (cinematographer), Chris Wyatt (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

In the early 20th century, two young men (Mescal and O’Connor) develop a life-changing bond…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THE HISTORY OF SOUND?

With the Oscars now carrying an award for Casting, it’s a genuine shock that whoever made the decision to have Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor fill the lead roles in director Oliver Hermanus’s romantic drama The History of Sound didn’t even get shortlisted for a nomination.

Over the past decade, both actors have earned their fair share of extremely dedicated fans who look upon them as not just great actors, but also unconventional heartthrobs that represent a different, more nurturing kind of masculinity than the macho and impossibly chiselled movie stars that most others grew up with. It was therefore a genius move to pair them up in the same movie, as lovers no less, because to see them share their natural on-screen gentleness with one another in various intimate settings is really all the marketing that’s needed to get audiences interested.

But although the prospect of seeing Mescal and O’Connor cosy up with each other is certainly enticing, the film itself is a much more subdued and mellow affair, one that breezes by at an all too leisurely pace and covers ground far beyond its central love story. Like its formidable leads, The History of Sound is a handsome figure, though ultimately not one that is bound to have as much lasting power.

Adapted from a pair of short stories by author Ben Shattuck (also the film’s screenwriter), the film primarily follows Lionel Worthing (Mescal), a young man who grows up on a Kentucky farm in the early 20th century with a powerful ear, even a taste and smell, for music. It’s not until 1917 whilst studying in Boston that he meets fellow student David White (O’Connor), with the two men bonding instantly over their passion and soulful interpretations of folk songs, a bond that quickly turns into a tender love affair that just as quickly comes to an end when David is drafted into the First World War and shipped to the front lines. Years pass, and the two reunite for a meaningful expedition to find and record folk songs from a wide range of local communities across rural Maine, which ends up affecting each of them in different ways and dictates the path they are individually destined to head down.

On the surface, that may not sound especially romantic, but The History of Sound finds admirable warmth in both Lionel and David’s shared love for artistic expression, in addition to the feelings they clearly have for one another that are ultimately weighed down by the gentlemanly expectations of their current society. Theirs is a stuffy, almost businesslike relationship where their desire for one another comes more from how they match the rhythms of all those tunes they carry in their hearts, which arguably offers more passion than many of the more overt love stories out there. Although the two actors don’t have quite as many scenes as one may be led to believe, that stops neither Mescal nor O’Connor from flexing their tenderness in deftly understated scenes that rely almost entirely on their subdued expressions, with Hermanus allowing enough breathing space for both characters to convey all we need to know about what makes them tick and therefore feel like a natural couple that you want to see end up together.

The issue, however, is that The History of Sound isn’t quite as interesting when it ventures outside its main narrative focus. Shattuck’s script opts for more of a slow-burn look at a person’s life during a critical period in 20th century America, not too dissimilar to something like Train Dreams (which ultimately handles the human drama and wider themes of compassion and male loneliness far more effectively), but it sometimes struggles to reach the centre of what is truly driving Lionel beyond everything he goes through with David, which doesn’t make it a particularly fascinating life to watch. Scenes of Lionel working on the family farm, striking up further relationships across Europe and eventually conducting a choir in mid-1920s Oxford are elegantly shot and of course wonderfully performed, yet Hermanus and even Mescal seem unable to give the character that Shattuck has created a sturdy extra dimension that should make him more of a compelling protagonist.

Since there is surprisingly little outside of the main romance to latch onto, the film often runs the risk of becoming dull to sit through. It just about avoids that notion through the quiet power of its filmmaking, as Hermanus and cinematographer Alexander Dynan lend a keen eye to some of the picturesque landscapes we travel across with the characters, and of course the lead performances carry a large bulk of the emotional weight, with standout later moments from the likes of Chris Cooper (as an older version of Mescal’s Lionel) and Hadley Robinson who is gifted a standout monologue during one of the film’s most effective scenes. These qualities elevate a film that some audiences, especially those going in expecting to get all hot and bothered by the steaminess of its two leads, may find themselves getting more than a little antsy during.

But even that speaks to the power of the central casting that has granted The History of Sound so much attention, because who doesn’t want to see the likes of Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor lock lips, even if it is in a slightly stifled and slow-moving historical drama?

SO, TO SUM UP…

The History of Sound boasts some handsome filmmaking and a great pair of performances by Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, the casting alone being enough of a reason to see it, but its slow-burn pace and less interesting asides constantly leave it on the verge of dullness.