I'm noticing some comments about the pacing of this movie, and I gotta disagree with the consensus here. I think it worked in the movies favour and reinforced Ruben's characterization. He's a recovering addict, and this movie frames many of his actions in that light. When he first gets his diagnosis, what does he do? Deny its severity, hide it from Lou, and disregards his well-being so he can play a gig. This movie is less focused on the why's, which I get might rub up against more detail-oriented people, but it didn't bother me. Ruben still thinks like an addict, looking for a quick fix. He's thinking in the moment, and so is the movie.
I love how this movie is shot. It goes to great lengths to show us Ruben's perspective, and uses close-ups and audio distortion to show us how isolated he is from the world. It reminded me a little of another 2020 movies, First Cow, another movie that isolates its leads to emphasize their relationship to each other. Where they differ is the actual composition of shots - First Cow is shot in 4:3 to force you to ignore the lush surroundings and give all your attention to the leads. At the beginning of the movie I thought that might work here too, but as the movie progressed I thought about why this movie was shot the way it was, and what effect it had. I think the director made the right choice, because while we do need those moments like Ruben in total near-total darkness at a gig, or in an interview with Joe where Joe is speaking to him out of frame, we also get those moments of Ruben interacting with children, or that second time he's speaking with Joe on a translator, and how it shows him slowly coming to accept his new life. The inverse of this was at Lou's father's birthday party, where we have a wide shot of him lost in the background, looking completely out of place. This wouldn't work with another camera.
The last few scenes of this movie are so heartbreaking. You get that one-two punch of Ruben losing his life and his love, and it hurts to watch. You already know where the movie is heading, because we've seen how Ruben's implant isn't the cure-all he thought it would be as he's trying to search through the noise, but it still stings when he hears Lou and her father play their song and all we get is a discordant mess. Then we have him reuniting with his lover for their first moment alone, and the words shared between them hang for just a moment too long, like the rhythm is off, like it's two lovers meeting again after they've moved on from their lives. Then we see Lou start to scratch her arm again after Ruben shares his plan to resume touring. Ahhhhh, it's so well done.
Anyway, I thought this movie was great. There's a lot to love and think about. It's both emotionally affecting and confident in form. 9/10