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Sound It Out is a low-budget observational documentary about the last record shop left in Teesside. It is a documentary about men who are fanatical about vinyl records, and about how and why it consumes their lives.
'It's grim up north' reads a record sleeve on the wall of Sound It Out records. Director Jeannie Finlay certainly tries to show us this first hand in some of the opening scenes of the film. In them we see the post-industrial landscape of Teesside, empty shops in it's city centre and young people on street corners. It certainly appears that Sound It Out record shops seems an escape away from all this.
The film has been compared unfairly to High Fidelity. While some of the fictional characters in High Fidelity are in a way elitist in their musical references and tastes, the people in Sound It Out are the complete opposite. The owner of the record shop, Tom, has a close relationship with his customers despite their at times questionable music taste. Sound It Out records appears to be a welcoming sort of sanctuary for eccentrics away from this troubled society.
The most interesting parts in Sound It Out are when we are invited back to the homes of these regulars. One regular called Shane is a passionate Status Quo fan who says he has seen them live more than three hundred and fifty times. Finlay films Shane listening to Status Quo with close ups of the expressions on his face and of his hand as it plays air guitar. This focus on the way people listen to and enjoy music is a particularly thought-provoking part of the film.
There are a few funny moments in Sound It Out that are usually generated by the strange behaviour of the shop's regulars, meaning the film does in this respect come perilously close to mocking these fragile people. It saves itself from this however by showing the humanity of these people, giving them space to talk about whatever they like. We meet for example Sam, who goes from talking about his love for the metal band Piss Christ to the times he has attempted suicide. It is through parts like that Sound It Out seems to be simultaneously sincere and facetious. Sound It Out pulls both off very well, making anyone who sees it to both like and care for the people in it. This is probably the best aspect of the film, as it allows people who don't share the extreme passion for music as the people in the film to enjoy Sound It Out on some sort of emotional level.
Considering the incredibly limited budget of this documentary it must be said that Jeannie Finlay has made something remarkable. Not only has she worked with this tight budget, but she has also made a uniquely community-driven film. The soundtrack for example is excellent, particularly considering all the artists on it are from Teesside. However, it is the people in this documentary what hold centre stage. Almost all the characters Finlay meets are some sort of social mis-fit who all rely heavily on Tom's shop. It is particularly heart-warming, without being patronising, to see people who have a genuine love for collecting music.Put simply, a wonderful documentary that relies on people rather than facts to tell the audience something new and unique.
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