Parents' Guide to The History of Sound

This beautifully performed, restrained drama explores music, love, and loss. Mescal and O'Connor are both critically acclaimed actors who are known for their ability to portray emotionally nuanced characters, so it's not surprising that they adeptly inhabit A History of Sound's two conflicted central characters. Mescal's portrayal of Lionel, whose connection to music is as much sensory as it is emotional or technical, is tender, if restrained. And O'Connor, as David, brings a quiet intensity to the role of a war veteran who's struggling with the burden of darker feelings after his experiences in the trenches. The chemistry between the two leads is palpable, although they get together so quickly at first that there's not as much buildup as in many romances, particularly period dramas centering on queer characters.

Directed by Oliver Hermanus, The History of Sound shares many literary and cinematic themes with the films Songcatcher and Brokeback Mountain. Like Songcatcher, it's steeped in a love of music and the quest to preserve folk songs from rural areas. And, like Brokeback, it explores the difficulties of being gay in the 20th century, capturing the often bittersweet tension between passion and societal norms. Both of those films, like this one, offer a portrayal of love that's both tender and tragic.