- Paul Mescal, Josh O'Connor, Chris Cooper
- January 23rd 2026
- 128
- Oliver Hermanus
Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor play two students who meet at a music conservatory and embark on an illicit romance.
Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor have been trying to work together for several years and their wish finally came true with The History of Sound.
In this romance drama, which begins in America in 1917, they play Lionel Worthing (Mescal) and David White (O’Connor), two students who bond over folk music while studying at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
They begin a secret romance, but this is soon scuppered by David being drafted to fight in World War I.
However, after David returns home from the war, he invites Lionel on a trip across Maine to collect folk songs on wax cylinders and their connection deepens.
Mescal and O’Connor, two of the most in-demand actors of their generation, give beautiful, powerful performances that seem ripe for awards buzz.
However, the film has received such a mixed response that any hope of awards recognition was soon dashed after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
Unfortunately for them, their moving performances are contained within a frustratingly slow, quiet and dreary movie. cThe first 30 minutes are intriguing and gripping, and the last 30 minutes have an emotional impact, but the middle will test your patience and concentration.
The middle section is too long and drawn out, the pace is far too slow and is surprisingly sedate for a movie called The History of Sound.
Thankfully, it builds to an effective game-changing reveal that will capture your attention and maybe even move you – and should hold you in that place until the very end.
The movie excels when real-life friends Mescal and O’Connor are together on-screen, but unfortunately, that doesn’t happen very much. This is a shame because they have good chemistry, a believably deep connection and bounce off each other wonderfully.
While The History of Sound may have seemed like an awards darling initially, it has since been overshadowed by the stars’ other work, including Mescal’s Hamnet and O’Connor’s many films like Wake Up Dead Man, The Mastermind and Rebuilding.
Perhaps in the future, they can team up for a project that lives up to their talents.
In cinemas from Friday 23rd January
By Hannah Wales
© Cover Media