I recently watched the film “CODA”, which was released at the start of 2021 and on streaming services later that summer. It was filmed in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and it won Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony last month. For those who have not seen it, this review does contain spoilers for the film. CODA is an acronym that stands for Child of Deaf Adults. The film, directed by Sian Heder (director of the 2016 comedy-drama “Tallulah”), tells the story of Ruby (Emilia Jones), a 17-year-old who is the only hearing member of her family. Living in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Ruby attends school while also juggling helping her parents and brother with their fishing business and constantly working as a translator for her family.
What she likes to do while on the fishing boat at the crack of dawn is listen to music and sing along to it. Her father Frank (Academy Award winner Troy Kotsur) and brother Leo (Daniel Durant) cannot hear any of this and ignore her. When Ruby joins the school choir, she is able to discover her full potential with singing. Ruby’s parents worry that she is setting herself up for disappointment since they are not able to hear her sing. Seeing that she is very talented, with singing as a way of expressing her true self, Ruby’s choir teacher Bernardo (Eugenio Derbez) insists that he coach her in preparation to audition for Berklee College of Music.
Being obligated to help out her family continues to get in the way, however, and Bernardo questions Ruby’s commitment. Not surprisingly, Ruby chooses to help her family over auditioning for Berklee, as she tells Bernardo after performing in a school concert. He is respectful of this decision but disappointed. After that concert, Frank asks Ruby to sing for him, and gently wraps his hands around her throat so he can feel the vibration. In that moment he understands that she is not only passionate about singing but is really good at it. The next morning the whole family surprises Ruby by taking her to the Berklee auditions.
Naturally, she is nervous, but as her family sneaks into the audition room, she starts to sing. As she sings, she pays a tribute to her family, for their love and support, by signing the lyrics of the song for them. It is an incredibly beautiful and powerful moment in the film, as Ruby shows a big part of who she is (sign language) in her audition. She gets into Berklee, and as she says goodbye to her family, her mother Jackie (“Children of a Lesser God’s” Marlee Matlin) gives her a hug, her father tearfully says the word “go”, and her brother signs “Bye s*** nugget” as he lovingly hugs her. There really is nothing better than family. Driving away from her house, as she leaves her family for the first time, she sticks her hand out the window of the car and signs “I really love you.”
“CODA” is honestly the most beautiful and deeply needed film that I have watched in a long time. Of all the films of diverse language representation that I have seen, I have never seen one like this. Emilia Jones, already trained in singing, became fluent in sign language for this role, an inspiring and meaningful dedication for an actress. The inspiring story and inclusion of this film is a meaningful breakthrough for deaf artists and audience members, paving the way for more representation and deep connection between artists in films like “CODA”. The cinematography is beautiful with amazing shots of the Gloucester area and the fishing boats in the harbor, but the film does not romanticize the fishermen’s lives. With hilarious (but awkward for Ruby) sexual content between the parents, the director captured some of the not often obvious aspects of living in a hearing world for those with hearing challenges. The acting by the hearing-impaired actors, particularly Kotsur and Matlin, was spectacular. With the acting, cinematography, soundtrack and directing all hitting the right notes, I would highly recommend seeing this breathtaking coming of age story. You can stream it now on Apple TV.
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