{"id":8978,"date":"2024-11-27T13:13:55","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T18:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=8978"},"modified":"2024-11-27T13:13:55","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T18:13:55","slug":"coda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/11\/27\/coda\/","title":{"rendered":"CODA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"CODA<\/strong> (2021)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Apple TV+\/Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 111 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (strong sexual content and language, drug use)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Sian Heder\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Sian Heder\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Marius de Vries\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Paula Huidobro\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: August 13, 2021 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant, Marlee Matlin, Amy Forsyth, Kevin Chapman.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Partially spoken in American Sign Language (ASL) w\/subtitles <\/strong><\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: *** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0Before the COVID pandemic, I was a regular at the Ritz 5, Philadelphia\u2019s premier arthouse theater. I went there every week to see the latest they had to offer in art cinema. I haven\u2019t made any trips to the city since before the lockdown. As much as I miss it, I\u2019m not ready to return just yet. This is why I support simultaneous theatrical and streaming releases. It allows me the opportunity to see films I otherwise wouldn\u2019t get to see. I still prefer seeing movies in a theater, but I\u2019ll see them however I can until life returns to normal or something close to it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0CODA<\/strong> (an acronym for Child of Deaf Adults) is currently playing at the Ritz 5; it\u2019s also streaming on Apple TV+. I knew I had to see it as soon as I saw the trailer. It looked GOOD! Written and directed by Sian Heder (Tallulah), it\u2019s actually a remake of the 2014 French film La Famille Belier<\/em>. I didn\u2019t see that one, so I wasn\u2019t thinking of it as I watched CODA<\/strong> with my wife. I was actually thinking of another foreign film, the excellent 1996 German drama Beyond Silence. The two films have similar plots in that they both deal with CODAs torn between their families and dreams of making music. It\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve seen the older movie, but the new one is absolutely outstanding.<\/p>\n

\u00a0For all her life, 17YO Ruby (Jones, Locke & Key) has been her deaf family\u2019s only connection to the hearing world. The only hearing member of her family, she\u2019s their interpreter in a variety of situations. She wakes up before the crack of dawn to help her father Frank (Kotsur, The Number 23) and older brother Leo (Durant, Switched at Birth) on their fishing boat. After putting in a full morning\u2019s work, she races to school reeking of fish. She barely has time to do her schoolwork much less pursue her true passion, music. This girl LOVES to sing! She\u2019s great at it too.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Ruby gets a chance to chase her dream after she signs up for choir. The teacher Mr. V (Derbez, Instructions Not Included) sees\/hears something special in this shy girl who bolts from the room the first day when she\u2019s called upon to sing in front of others. He encourages her to audition for Berklee College of Music in Boston, even agreeing to coach her privately to prepare. The problem is her family. They need her. Also, they\u2019re not exactly supportive of her dream, especially her mother Jackie (Matlin, Children of a Lesser God) who thinks she\u2019s being selfish. Music is something they can\u2019t share as a family.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I\u2019ve been a fan of Emilia Jones since I saw her as a little girl in the hilarious comedy-drama What We Did on Our Holiday, a Brit take on the underseen 1988 film Rocket Gibraltar starring Burt Lancaster in his penultimate movie role. She stood out as eldest daughter Lottie, a wise and mature 10YO who sees right through her dysfunctional family\u2019s BS. She may be older in CODA<\/strong>, but she acts her age as a high schooler dealing with the usual teen drama (friends, love and mean girls) in addition to the drama at home- the family decides to start their own fishing business and need her to communicate with customers and vendors. A subplot has Ruby assigned to sing a duet at a school concert with the shy boy she\u2019s been crushing on, guitar player Miles (Peelo, Sing Street). Of course, there are complications on the road to romance including a terrible misunderstanding that keeps them apart for a while. Jones takes a commanding lead in CODA<\/strong>, carrying it to emotional heights not achieved by too many other movies, the most recent example being the dramatically inert Joe Bell.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Jones is supported by an unusually strong supporting cast that includes deaf performers. The three actors playing her family- Matlin, Kotsur and Durant- are deaf in real life. It adds a level of realism. Matlin, an Oscar-winning actress who lobbied for the casting of deaf actors, is incredible as the mother afraid of losing her family\u2019s lifeline. She\u2019s hard on her daughter, but it\u2019s only because they\u2019re so much alike, more than Ruby realizes. Kotsur brings a lot of comic energy as the father not afraid to speak\/sign his mind or spark up a joint in public. Durant is also good as the brother who quietly resents Ruby for her ability to hear, speak and sing.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The movie\u2019s only misstep, and it\u2019s a small one, is Derbez\u2019s flamboyant performance as Mr. V. He doesn\u2019t feel like a real character. The rest of CODA<\/strong> is steeped in authenticity and emotion. Heder and the talented cast make us believe we\u2019re watching a real family. They have their ups and down. The parents embarrass their daughter regularly, especially when they have loud sex while she has company. Another funny scene that really rings true is a doctor\u2019s visit where Ruby hears (and translates) very personal things that no child should ever have to know about their parents. The poor girl is absolutely mortified. By the same token, the drama feels completely real and authentic. What would life be like for the family if Ruby chooses to leave? Will her career choice create a divide between her and her family? How will Ruby do without her family? Can she walk away from what she sees as an obligation and a burden? These are big things for a teen to ponder.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I thought about describing a couple of highly emotional scenes in CODA<\/strong>, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to do that, at least not in detail. Well, I\u2019ll talk about the one. In it, all sound vanishes as Ruby\u2019s family watches her perform at the school concert. It\u2019s powerful in that it lets us experience her gift from their perspective. They\u2019ll never know the pleasure of hearing her beautiful voice, but they see the effect it has on others. It\u2019s a big moment. There\u2019s another a little bit down the road- i.e. her Berklee audition- but I\u2019ll leave it for you to experience yourself.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In a season defined by empty cinematic vehicles full of bombast, sound and fury, a small drama like CODA<\/strong> is like a breath of fresh air. It\u2019s about regular people NOT people with super powers. They have real problems NOT assignments involving megalomaniacal villains plotting world domination. Films like this usually come out at awards time. I truly hope voters remember CODA<\/strong> when it\u2019s time to cast ballots. It\u2019s excellent.<\/p>\n

P.S. I\u2019ll return to the Ritz 5 when they resume their old schedule- i.e. early afternoon shows. I like seeing two movies in one visit.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CODA (2021)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Apple TV+\/Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 111 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (strong sexual content and language, drug use)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Sian Heder\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Sian Heder\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Marius de Vries\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Paula Huidobro\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: August 13, 2021 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant, Marlee Matlin, Amy Forsyth, Kevin Chapman.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Partially spoken in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-pictures","category-dramas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/CODA-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8978"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9329,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8978\/revisions\/9329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}