Film Review - CODA (12A)

 The song you sang tonight. What was it about?

Gist: Meet Ruby, the only hearing member of the Rossi family, hence CODA - Child of Deaf Adults. She divides her time between high school and the fishing boat operated by her father and brother, where aside from hauling lobster pots around, she serves as their ears in treacherous waters off the Massachusetts coast. Then on attending the school's music society, Ruby discovers she can sing - as in to potentially professional quality. That's the route her music teacher, the flamboyant Mr Villalobos encourages her to take, but these new aspirations fly in the face of all that's become expected of Ruby, leaving her torn between the family she loves and the possibility of a whole other life.

Juice: The story in those terms - talented child in a family that can't quite understand them - has been done before, Billy Elliot springing immediately to mind. What's totally fresh here is the family dynamic that's captured on screen. CODA is a remake of 2014's La Famille Belier, but unlike the French original this version cast deaf actors in the roles of Ruby's parents and brother. It seems a no-brainer in retrospect, but was something that Oscar-winning Marlee Matlin (cast as Ruby's mother Jackie) insisted on to secure her involvement with the project. The result is a tangibly authentic connection between these actors - a sense of family so strong you can smell it. They bicker, spar, laugh and argue, with all the inter-generational misunderstanding, embarrassment and love of any family, only while signing. True Emilia Jones as Ruby isn't CODA in her own right, but the bond established between her and her fellow-actors as she learned to communicate with them is up there on the screen, and is the movie's chief joy. 

The music element is another reason for watching. London native Jones had an established if low-key career, but CODA's Oscar buzz and the way she soulfully owns a certain Joni Mitchell classic here promises to launch her somewhere stratospheric. She's terrific in the role, never less than when she emotes in song, and her spiky relationship with Eugenio Derbez' musical mentor raises another potential movie cliche into something to relish in each shared scene. But the most memorable performance is that of awards-nominated Troy Kotsur as father Frank. Pithy, demonstrative and frequently hilarious, he's a heart-on-sleeve fisher-wild-man, who owns every frame he's in. Yes - the Rossis are great in there own terms and individually, but it's the hairy, salty dad of the bunch who'll stick with you.

Judgement: 8/10. Writer/director Sian Heder learned to craft complex character interactions through TV work, mostly on Orange is the New Black. CODA is a huge leap for her in directorial terms, and it's a success on all levels. Beautifully shot (no less than when the story takes to the water) and crisply edited, her work behind the lens compliments everything that she's made unfold before it, with the help of some A-grade acting and production talent. In terms of story beats - conflict and resolution, setback and success - this will all feel familiar, predictable even. But the getting there is everything, and CODA does it with such emotional insight, humour and heart, that you enjoy step of the journey. It's a humane, empathetic hug of a film, and I defy you not to be wiping away tears by the end.