The fantastic, funny and heartfelt dramedy “CODA” doesn’t astound by breaking the mold of teen romances and coming-of-age tales. Instead, its brilliance lies in combining these well-tread tropes with an important sense of inclusion for a sweet story that truly sings.
‘CODA’ star Marlee Matlin on breaking character, working with screen husband Tony Kotsur
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Written and directed by Siân Heder – and based on a 2014 French film – “CODA” (★★★½ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters and on Apple TV+ Friday) features a breakthrough role for talented newcomer Emilia Jones and a thoughtful narrative that takes audiences into the personal lives of a deaf family with a single hearing member. By the end, you’ll have Joni Mitchell stuck in your head, a renewed respect for Oscar-winning great Marlee Matlin, perhaps a want to learn American Sign Language and probably a couple tear-drenched hankies.
So if “Ted Lasso” hasn’t already inspired you to sign up for Apple TV+, this should do the trick.
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‘We are not costumes’: Why Marlee Matlin put her foot down about ‘CODA’ casting deaf actors
Ruby (Jones) is a 17-year-old Massachusetts girl – the Child of Deaf Adults, or CODA in the title – who works on the family fishing boat with her worrying mom Jackie (Matlin), salty dad Frank (Troy Kotsur) and headstrong brother Leo (Daniel Durant). Seafood buyers in the coastal town of Gloucester try to take advantage of the working-class clan, with Ruby usually stepping in as the resident translator. She juggles that life with her high school days, where she’s mocked by classmates for her hardscrabble roots (“Do you smell fish?” one mean girl quips passing by Ruby in the hall).
When it’s time to sign up for clubs, Ruby sees her crush Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) join choir and follows suit. Ruby is actually a really good singer, though her first meeting with eccentric choir director Bernardo Villalobos (Eugenio Derbez) brings out old insecurities.
What to watch this weekend: ‘Free Guy,’ ‘Respect’ and ‘CODA’
Mr. V takes an interest in Ruby, though, pairing her with Miles for a duet and offering to help her get ready for an audition at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. But her parents, a randy twosome who live to embarrass Ruby, don’t understand this new direction for her interests and insist she’s needed to help their struggling business. “If I was blind, would you want to paint?” Jackie signs to her daughter.
Like last year’s excellent “Sound of Metal,” Heder gives hearing viewers the perspective of a deaf person: When Ruby performs at a school concert, you experience the same silence as her dad and instead of listening to the impact of his daughter’s powerful voice, you witness it in the facial reactions of those sitting by him. Similarly, during an emotional conversation between Ruby and her mom that’s a long time coming, Heder again strips away the sound so audiences can give undivided attention to their hands signing and the important connection between mother and daughter.
Matlin charms as a mom doing what she can for the family while also navigating her own issues interacting with the hearing world, and Kotsur’s sure to find some new fans as the dad having his world opened up by experiencing — in his own way — Ruby’s musical gift. Jones is the most impressive standout, showing the blossoming from an awkward teen girl to one owning a freedom of confidence. Her chemistry with Walsh-Peelo is decent enough, though Jones and Derbez – a notoriously lively Mexican comedic star who lends a nuanced and restrained performance here – are a more dynamic duo.
The crowd-pleasing “CODA” uses a touching lead performance, common themes and a glimpse at a spirited deaf family to craft a beautiful exercise in empathy chock full of the warm fuzzies.
With theaters back up and running and new films hitting digital platforms, it’s time to catch up on the must-see movies of the year.
Emilia Jones stars as a teenage girl – and only hearing member – of a deaf family who has to balance her passion for singing with the demands of working on her struggling parents’ fishing boat in “CODA.” Here’s how it ranks against the rest of the best movies of 2021:
26. “The Water Man”: Hoping to help his ailing mom, young Gunner (Lonnie Chavis, with Amiah Miller) searches for a mythical figure in the forest said to hold a key to immortality in director David Oyelowo’s old-school family adventure with a 1980s sensibility.
25. “Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar”: Kristen Wiig (left) and Annie Mumolo are middle-aged BFFs who stumble onto a plot to take out a Florida vacation spot in a bizarro comedy featuring killer mosquitoes, a helpful water spirit and the very earwormy song “I Love Boobies.”
24. “Honeydew”: After getting stranded in the middle of nowhere, Riley (Malin Barr) wonders about their strange host’s home cooking while Sam (Sawyer Spielberg) chows down in a rural thriller that’s a gory mix of “Hansel & Gretel” and “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.”
23. “Zola”: Stefani (Riley Keough, left) involves her new friend Zola (Taylour Paige) in some seriously shady dealings in director Janicza Bravo’s bonkers but empowering comedic thriller based on A’Ziah King’s infamous Twitter thread.
22. “Plan B”: Strait-laced Sunny (Kuhoo Verma, left) and her rebel BFF Lupe (Victoria Moroles) are South Dakota high schoolers on an epic trip to find a morning-after pill in director Natalie Morales’ fun and heartfelt one-crazy-night caper.
21. “In the Heights”: Anthony Ramos plays a New York bodega owner who dreams of returning to the Dominican Republic in Jon M. Chu’s infectious movie musical version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway show.
20. “Raya and the Last Dragon”: Young warrior Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, left) teams up with legendary water dragon Sisu (Awkwafina) in an epic and sassy animated fantasy adventure for youngsters not yet ready for “Game of Thrones.”
19. “Come True”: The intriguingly freaky and clever sci-fi horror thriller centers a troubled teen (Julia Sarah Stone) who dreams of disturbing dreamscapes at night and enlists in a sleep-disorder study where the darkness of her subconscious arrives in reality.
18. “Quo Vadis, Aida?”: A UN translator (Jasna Đuričić) fights for her family’s safety while dealing with inept Dutch officials and ruthless Serbs rounding up Muslims in the excellent and harrowing Oscar-nominated Bosnian war drama.
17. “Night of the Kings”: A jailed pickpocket (Bakary Koné, center) is forced to become a storyteller in a prison run by its inmates in director Philippe Lacôte’s absorbing drama, which pays tribute to the oral tradition of the tale-spinning West African griots.
16. “The Boy Behind the Door”: Lonnie Chavis (“This Is Us”) stars as young boy who has to rescue his best pal Ezra Dewey) when they’re kidnapped and taken to a strange house in the country in an excellent survival chiller with a cool twist.
15. “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”: The Mitchell family – Katie (from left, voiced by Abbi Jacobson), Linda (Maya Rudolph), Rick (Danny McBride) and Aaron (director Mike Rianda) – team up with some screwed-up robots in the joyful animated comedy.
14. “Pig”: Nicolas Cage gives a wonderfully soulful – and unusually un-Cage – performance as an Oregon truffle hunter whose beloved porcine best friend is stolen in Michael Sarnoski’s intriguingly quirky, somewhat bittersweet and surprisingly tender drama
13. “Judas and the Black Messiah”: Daniel Kaluuya (center) plays influential Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in director Shaka King’s timely period drama, which functions as political thriller and historical vehicle.
12. “Nine Days”: In writer/director Edson Oda’s deep and thoughtful existential fantasy, Will (Winston Duke, left) interviews and tests Kane (Bill Skarsgård) and a bunch of other souls to see if they’re fit to be born on Earth.
11. “Cruella”: Emma Stone gamely plays Disney villainess Cruella De Vil as a young London designer in 1970s punk-rock London who tussles with a chic and ruthless fashion icon in an intriguing, colorful exploration of nature vs. nurture.
10. “Riders of Justice”: Mads Mikkelsen (far right) is a soldier who comes home to take care of his daughter (Andrea Heick Gadeberg) and exacts vengeance on the street gang responsible for his wife’s death in the brutal and heartwarming Danish action-comedy thriller.
9. “The Suicide Squad”: Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian, from left), Peacemaker (John Cena), Bloodsport (Idris Elba) and Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) are the newcomers to Task Force X in James Gunn’s bloody and absurdly delightful bad-guys-save-the-world movie.
8. “The Sparks Brothers”: Edgar Wright’s rock doc chronicles the five-decade career of Sparks, how the art-pop band was huge overseas but never in America, and what keeps brothers Russell (left) and Ron Mael passionate and still together today.
7. “The Vigil”: A Jewish New Yorker (Dave Davis) of lapsed faith takes an all-night job that turns into a battle for his soul thanks to the arrival of a demonic dybbuk in a chiller that scares up serious religious mythos and haunting historical connections.
6. “Together Together”: A 45-year-old bachelor (Ed Helms) unlucky in love but who badly wants children, hires a 20-something barista (Patti Harrison) to be his surrogate in Nikole Beckwith’s feel-good pregnancy dramedy.
5. “Summer of Soul”: Sly and the Family Stone perform at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival in the splendid new documentary, directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and featuring a slew of never-before-seen performances from the event.
4. “I Care a Lot”: Rosamund Pike plays a conniving conservator who bilks aging clients out of their money in the dark crime satire, a genre-exploding effort that’s awash in ethical quandaries and severely lacking in good guys.
3. “CODA”: Teenage Ruby (Emilia Jones, left) wants to explore her singing talent, but her deaf mom (Marlee Matlin) doesn’t understand in writer/director Siân Heder’s heartwarming coming-of-age dramedy.
2. “The Green Knight”: Headstrong young man Gawain (Dev Patel, left) wields the sword of his uncle, King Arthur (Sean Harris), and sets out on an epic quest in director David Lowery’s dazzling dark fantasy.
1. “The Father”: Anthony Hopkins stars as an elderly London man with dementia trying to make sense of his constantly shifting reality in writer/director Florian Zeller’s immersive character study and exceptional drama.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Review: Brilliant ‘CODA’ is a moving, must-see movie that will inspire you to sign up for Apple TV+
