CODA Movie Review

CODA (2021)

Rent CODA on Amazon Video (paid link) // Watch the Original French Movie 
Written by: Sian Heder (screenplay), Victoria Bedos & Stanislas Carré de Malberg & Éric Lartigau & Thomas Bidegain (motion picture "La Famille Belier")
Directed by: Sian Heder
Starring: Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her musical passion and her fear of abandoning her deaf parents.

Verdict
It's such a touching movie. I've seen coming of age movies with tension between a family and kid but never one concerning deafness. Ruby is integral to her family, the bridge between them and hearing. They rely on her, but her ability to sing provides a great opportunity. Unfortunately those possibilities are in direct conflict with the assistance she provides. They love each other, but someone must sacrifice. The fact that she can sing and her family can't even hear it makes this all the more emotional.
Watch It.

Review
CODA stands for child of deaf adults. Emilia Jones trained for nearly a year to learn sign language for the movie, and this won the Best Picture Oscar in 2021.

Ruby (Emilia Jones) is her deaf parents connection to the speaking world. She's the only one in her family that's not deaf. Her dad's a fisherman, and she frequently helps so that's an added layer of awkwardness in high school. As if parents weren't already embarrassing enough, her parents pick her up from school with the radio blaring rap because they can feel the bass. All of that only makes high school more difficult.

Emilia Jones plays Ruby Rossi

Ruby wants to try out for choir but is intimidated by the teacher and other students, running out before her audition. We soon learn that she really can sing. She manages to get another try, and the teacher sees potential. Not only that, he knows how to unlock it, pushing her to do better. He assigns her a duet with a boy in choir. Practicing at home has the potential to be embarrassing, and it is. Her parents don't realize how loud they're being. It's all of her fears of ridicule coming to fruition.

Ruby is trapped between music and her family. Her teacher tells her there's a future, a scholarship, but her family is facing the decline of their fishing business. She's the one that translates for them, their link. If she goes off to school, what well they do? They completely rely on her. She's trapped in the family business, and she doesn't have enough time for that and choir. She can't abandon her parents and brother.

Daniel Durant, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur play Leo, Jackie, Frank Rossi

Her family attends the choral performance, but they don't realize how good she is. They're bored, which is understandable. There's a great shot during her duet where the sound cuts out and we experience it from her family's perspective. There's no way for them to understand it.

Later in the movie, her father asks her to sing for him. He feels her neck, her vocal cords, so he can 'hear' the song. It's a touching moment. 

Emilia Jones plays Ruby Rossi

It's a touching movie, and I've seen coming of age stories before. This adds the pull between family and a dream, but it's never been this type of struggle. It's a no win situation. Obligations are difficult, and it isn't superficial. The world isn't built for deaf people. Ruby is the bridge between her parents and the everyone else. Either she chases her dream and leaves her family defenseless, or she stays so that she can remain that bridge.