2020 was a rough year. So going into the digital version of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, I was not sure what we were going to get but it’s safe to say that I was looking for a well-needed pick-me-up. Little did I know that the festival would deliver just that literally out of the gate, with the opening night film selection, CODA.
Directed by Sian Heder, CODA is a remake of the 2014 French-language film La Famille Bélier and the title is an acronym for child of deaf adults. In this case, it is Ruby (Emilia Jones), who is the only member of the Rossi family who can hear. She helps her parents (Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur) and brother (Daniel Durant) run their fishing business in Gloucester, Massachusetts, spending her early mornings on a boat before heading off to school not quite fitting in with her peers outside of her best friend, Gertie (Amy Forsyth).
It’s after joining the school’s choir club that she truly discovers her passion and pure talent for singing – with a little bit of a push from her instructor (Eugenio Derbez), who sees some real potential in her. The cruel irony of course is that no one in her family knows about the gift she has and they tragically can never truly understand in the same way.
CODA is a true crowdpleaser in every sense of the word. Heder, who also penned the screenplay, does inevitably touch upon a lot of familiar aspects of this sort of fim, and sure, you may be able to predict all the beats as they happen. But she navigates the terrain in such a genuine and heartfelt manner with a ton of charm that it never feels false. Instead, it uplifts you and will move you to tears thanks to a well-delivered message and a collection of amazing performances from the entire cast.
Every once and a while you witness the sort of star-making performance that you realize will be the start of something great, and that is very much the case with Emilia Jones. Not only a capable dramatic actor, she shows legit singing chops and also took up the task of learning sign language in order to converse with her fellow actors. You truly believe that she is a part of this family.
This includes the veteran actor Marlee Matlin, as well as the impressive performances from Daniel Durant and Troy Kotsur. They are all up to the task of delivering both charming comedic moments as well as devastating emotional ones that will cut deep. There is also the energizing performance from Eugenio Derbez as her music teacher and Sing Street’s Ferdia Walsh-Peelo as her love interest.
The way that the film contrasts the joy of hearing music with the isolating aspects of deaf and somehow merging the two in such a winning way is an absolute triumph. Heder cleverly showcases this impact in a handful of powerful scenes that will stick with you long after the credits roll. It’s also ripe with smart and fitting musical choices that only help with shaping the film’s rich identity.
After finishing CODA I was swept up in the amount of emotion that the film delivered and achieved in a wholesome fashion. It never felt cheap or unearned despite some of the more predictable elements that would hurt a film in lesser hands. But Heder and the cast deliver on an Award-worthy level the sort that makes it hurt a little bit extra that this film didn’t get the chance to bow in front of an audience that surely would have given it a well-deserved standing ovation.
Still, this is just the start of CODA’s journey, as it is clear that it is destined for some pretty big things with both audiences and future awards prospects alike.
CODA was purchased by Apple TV+ after its screening with release plans yet to be announced.
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