The wait is over—Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor have officially dropped the first trailer for The History of Sound, and it’s every bit as intimate and haunting as fans of queer cinema had hoped.
The trailer offers a dreamy, slow-burning glimpse into the emotional core of the film: the love story between David (Mescal) and Lionel (O’Connor), two young men who meet in 1917 as students at the Boston Music Conservatory and fall in love while on a journey to collect folk songs in post–World War I America.
Directed by Oliver Hermanus, the film blends period drama with poetic tenderness, and the trailer leans heavily into its queer romantic themes, showing scenes of soft laughter, tentative touches, and quiet mornings in bed—no dialogue needed.
The cinematography is lush and muted, wrapping the characters in a gentle atmosphere that speaks volumes about what remains unsaid between two men navigating love in a time of repression and recovery.
The chemistry between Mescal and O’Connor is already being praised, and the trailer has sparked buzz across social media, especially among LGBTQ+ audiences hungry for nuanced gay love stories told with beauty and grace.
The History of Sound had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and was nominated for the Palme d’Or, with critics applauding both actors for their moving performances.
For Mescal, this marks another step into queer cinema following his acclaimed role in All of Us Strangers, while O’Connor brings back memories of his emotionally raw turn in God’s Own Country.
Set for release on 12 September 2025, the film is based on a short story by Ben Shattuck and explores love, memory, and the music that binds generations together.
But for now, all eyes are on the trailer—which, in just two minutes, promises a story of queer love that is restrained, resonant, and impossible to forget.