CODA is the best movie I’ve seen in 2021 so far. The title has a double meaning. Usually, a “coda” is a musical term referring to a certain type of ending to a piece of music, but it also stands for “Child of Deaf Adults.” This movie centers around a family of three deaf adults and their teenage daughter who can both hear and communicate with American Sign Language. In essence, she’s their interpreter.
Sian Heder wrote and directed this film based on the 2014 French movie, “La Famille Belier.” The teenager named Ruby, played brilliantly by Emilia Jones, wakes up each morning to go on her father’s fishing boat with her brother. But Ruby’s love is singing, something her deaf family can’t related to.
Ruby signs up for Chorus as a High School Elective to get close to a boy she likes named Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) and encounters a gifted teacher, Bernardo (Eugenio Derbez). The choirmaster recognizes Ruby’s singing talent and encourages her to prepare for an audition for the Berklee College of Music scholarship.
CODA swings between the problems Ruby’s father, Frank (Troy Kotsur) and brother, Leo (Daniel Durant), encounter in their fishing business in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and the difficulty of Ruby’s mother, Jackie, (played by Marlee Matlin–the only deaf person to win an Oscar), in accepting that her daughter might leave home.
I was moved by the portrayal of a family that clearly loves one another confronting problems and dealing with disabilities. My advice is to watch CODA with some Kleenex nearby. GRADE: A
The ads I saw for the film looked pretty good, and I’ve been missing Matlin in recent years (she was doing a fair amount of tv work for a while after her initial big splash in CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD). Whoever is running Apple+ seems to be scheduling and commissioning cannily.
Todd, Apple TV bought the rights to broadcast CODA for a mere $25 million. Canny indeed!
You liked it a lot better than I did. I thought it a bit cloying at times. And as far as her singing goes it reminds me too much of the contestants on The Voice/ Americas Got Talent shows. I would give it a B- at best.
Steve, you’re right about the cloying aspects. But seeing an unusual family like this represented in such a positive fashion made an impact on me.
I’ll have a look. Thanks for the heads-up!
Dan, I think you’ll enjoy CODA. It’s different.
I rarely cry in movies and I cried a good deal. It had never occurred to me that a deaf family would have no idea what their daughter’s ability to sing might mean. Singing has no meaning to them I thought it was a bit sentimental but it earned it. It’s a story we don’t often see. And what must it be like to be responsible for your family’s place in the world. An immigrant family would eventually learn the language. And I liked the way they used closed captions instead of having someone translate for them. I give it an A-.
Patti, my eyes misted up a few times during CODA, too. I considered giving CODA an A- because of the annoying texting scenes that made it hard read to read the texts, but that seemed nit-picky compared to the excellence of the entire film.
No Apple TV here, but I am looking forward to seeing it eventually.
Marlee Matlin has done plenty of television, including The West Wing (2000-2006), The L Word (2007-2009), Switched at Birth (2011-2017), and Quantico (2018).
Jeff, Marlee Matlin’s role as Ruby’s mother in CODA rings true. She’s a complicated character who loves her daughter, but comes to realize the pressure the family has put on her daughter to interpret their words to the world.
SWITCHED AT BIRTH got right by me. QUANTICO was terrible, but I don’t recall if I saw any of Matlin’s episodes.
Yeah, she was (apparently) in season three of QUANTICO. I didn’t get past a few episodes of season one.
And to interpret the world for them. What a burden.
Patti, Ruby had to deal with a lot of stress. And the actress who played her, Emilia Jones, had to learn American Sign Language, learn how to work on a fishing boat, and learn how to sing in The Voice/American’s Got Talent fashion. That’s a lot to ask of a teenager!