Cannes 2025: First Reactions to Josh O’Connor - Paul Mescal Romance THE HISTORY OF SOUND

The Cannes Film Festival continues with more big premieres. Today featured the first screening of Oliver Hermanus’ period romance THE HISTORY OF SOUND, which screened in competition and is seeking US distribution.

The History of Sound is directed by Oliver Hermanus, written by Ben Shattuck, and based on his short story of the same name. It follows the relationship between David (Josh O'Connor) and Lionel (Paul Mescal), who met in 1917 while attending the Boston Music Conservatory, and after the World War I traveled together recording folk songs of their countrymen in rural Maine in the summer of 1920.

The film co-stars Chris Cooper, Peter Mark Kendall, Molly Price, Raphael Sbarge, Hadley Robinson, Emma Canning, Briana Middleton, and Alessandro Bedetti.

Here are the first reactions out of the Cannes screening:

‘The History of Sound’ Review: Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor Make Love and Music in Oliver Hermanus’ Affecting Wartime Romance https://t.co/0fzq6Q3YLs
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) May 21, 2025

'The History Of Sound' Review: Paul Mescal And Josh O'Connor Make Beautiful Music Together In Moving Love Story - Cannes Film Festival https://t.co/nVUcaYPdBC
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) May 21, 2025

‘The History of Sound’ Review: Paul Mescal And Josh O’Connor Are Heartbreaking Enough [Cannes] https://t.co/VUql181oaS pic.twitter.com/Jmx98PXUcN
— The Playlist (@ThePlaylistNews) May 21, 2025

“The History of Sound” is a movie that never fully finds a life beyond what it is on paper. It wants to wrench our hearts, but coming 20 years after “Brokeback Mountain” did that very thing, this thin-blooded, art-conscious knockoff of that film’s tragedy is a movie that may end… pic.twitter.com/172pvYoogD
— Variety (@Variety) May 21, 2025

THE HISTORY OF SOUND is an aching gay love story about two young men preserving the songs of American life in the early 1900s. Lyrical & tender in both writing & direction, it’s awash in an angelic, evocative score & soothing songs that stir poignant feelings of lost time &… pic.twitter.com/WEW12K3zsH
— Matt Neglia @Cannes (@NextBestPicture) May 21, 2025

THE HISTORY OF SOUND: Was ready to write this off as another admirable but dry and dusty Hermanus period pic. But about an hour in, it gets deeper and trickier, with Paul Mescal going AFTERSUN to the power of 10. The (too many) ending(s) will turn you into puddle of mush. #Cannes
— Barry Hertz (@HertzBarry) May 21, 2025

For a good half of The History of Sound, it seems as though a stellar Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor have given us a gay romance for the ages and then...it all starts to fade away. But that first half? I'll watch that again and gain. My review from #Cannes https://t.co/pZLeKbQ7yH
— Gregory Ellwood - The Playlist 🎬 (@TheGregoryE) May 21, 2025

#24 • THE HISTORY OF SOUND (Oliver Hermanus)

Josh O’Connor tops Paul Mescal in a quiet, restrained and very shy gay romance that lingers more in feeling than action. Quiet devastation turning heartbreak into something lasting. Chris Cooper brings it all home with a bittersweet… pic.twitter.com/2ZXrSZVGRp
— Ali Benzekri (@Alibenzkr) May 21, 2025

THE HISTORY OF SOUND tests the limits of British restraint as it works through its story of love and folk music. Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal build a palpably deep connection but the clichéd second half is so restrained it loses its pulse. Handsome but uninspired. #Cannes2025 pic.twitter.com/LdSWKzmb8O
— Dancin' Dan in Cannes-land (@dancindanonfilm) May 21, 2025

The grandiose, sweeping emotional gestures toward repression and latent desire out of something like “Brokeback Mountain” are nowhere here.

Our review for "The History of Sound": https://t.co/YiY8LO5Jg3 pic.twitter.com/VJhFMtSCJS
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) May 21, 2025

The History of Sound is a subdued gay period drama that reminds you of Brokeback Mountain in its melancholy and heartbreaking romance using the power of music to evoke feelings of regret and time lost but without the emotional depth and incredible nuance that made the original… pic.twitter.com/VmiEIzXNCw
— Zak 🌹 (@ZakRed567) May 21, 2025

THE HISTORY OF SOUND is music, history & emotion overlaid on a romantic tale during the WWI. Hermanus’ direction is beautifully sensitive & precise. Paul Mescal gives an outstanding performance in front of the camera, deeply hypnotic w/ iconic chemistry with Josh O’Connor #Cannes pic.twitter.com/AEhiOzOg4e
— Jairo Jiménez @Cannes (@jairojimenez_) May 21, 2025

Oliver Hermanus’ The History of Sound is an achingly tender film.
I loved the delicate performances from Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, wistful direction and the soulful folky score. The story can’t help but hit a bunch of gay tropes but I’ll admit the ending packed an emotional… pic.twitter.com/wgcMNZLlzl
— Luke Hearfield (@LukeHearfield) May 21, 2025

There’s not nearly enough of Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal kissing in the movie about Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal kissing, if you ask VF chief critic @rilaws.

Read his full review of ‘The History of Sound’: https://t.co/RoiyctOF4a
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) May 21, 2025

The History of Sound blew me away. Both Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor are fantastic (as per usual). A beautiful, patient, soulful, heartbreaking examination of love, folk music, and regret. One of my favorite films of the festival so far. #Cannes2025 pic.twitter.com/8UPcXNaLu4
— Ryan McQuade (@ryanmcquade77) May 21, 2025

THE HISTORY OF SOUND: a gay period drama about an impossible love starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor that’s like BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN meets INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS. Subtle, so moving and staggeringly beautiful, it completely broke me #Cannes2025 pic.twitter.com/Rn6FiuTZDX
— FilmLand Empire (@FilmLandEmpire) May 21, 2025

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