Director: Sian Heder
Cast: Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, Eugenio Derbez, Daniel Durant,
Ferdia Walsh-Peelo
Genre: Comedy drama
Language/Country: English, American Sign Language / USA
Duration: 1 hr 41 min
On 28th March, the Academy Awards took place. The nominations list for Best Picture
was crowded with popular films which had big names attached to them. The Power of
the Dog, West Side Story, Don’t Look Up and Belfast were the giants pitted against
each other for the golden trophy. But the big shocker came when an independent film
named ‘CODA’, directed by Sian Heder, took the coveted prize along with the Award for
Best Adapted Screenplay. ‘CODA’ also became the first winner in Oscar history to focus
on a predominantly deaf cast.
Based on the acclaimed 2014 French-Belgian film titled La Famille Bélier, ‘CODA’
follows the life of a teenager named Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones). She is a child of deaf
adults (the acronym of which is CODA). Her parents, Frank and Jackie Rossi (essayed
by Troy Kotsur and Marlee Matlin respectively), are both hearing impaired. So is Ruby’s
elder brother, Leo (Daniel Durant). The Rossi family sustain a living on fishing, and
slowly become influential figures in their fishing community after the workers clash with the local board.
Around the same time, Ruby is struggling with walking between two worlds: her deaf
family and the outside world. She feels like a misfit at school while occasionally feeling
alienated at her own home. In a notable scene, the family loudly go about their cooking
and DIY work (as they are not aware of their loudness). This disturbs the sulky Ruby
who is doing her homework. She also harbours a dream to become a singer, something
that she feels her family does not understand.
The best way to enjoy ‘CODA’ is to not expect a multi-layer (with layers upon layers) of
meanings, symbolism and social commentary. Nor should one expect sweeping
cinematography or historical events that we have come to expect from Best Picture
winners. This is because ‘CODA’ is nothing like its flashy predecessors. The film plays it
straightforwardly as a simple, charming story about love: the love of music, self love,
young love and the love in a family. Come to think of it, the Rossi family are in love with each other. The family fish together every morning, and dine together every night.
They make sure to include each member while discussing their business. The parents have an active sex life. Ruby’s friend Miles expresses his jealousy over the love Ruby’s
parents have for each other, in contrast to his own tense home life. And the entire family shows up for Ruby’s school performance and the audition. Even the big brother shows up for his sister in both these events!
While some scenes with Ruby and her parents make for hilarious banter and laughs,
the other funny scenes are claimed by Eugenio Derbez who plays Mr. Bernardo
Villalobos (Mr. V in short), the director of the school choir. One day, Mr. V discovers
Ruby’s hidden talent of singing, explaining that in spite of the ruggedness of her voice,
he senses deep emotions in the way she sings. He brings up Bob Dylan as an example
of a raspy-voiced artist who, nevertheless, found great success due to the very rawness of his voice.
Mr. V takes Ruby under his wings and trains her for an upcoming audition
at Berklee College of Music. He helps in cultivating her skills, much like Julie Walters in
‘Billy Elliot’ who spots the potential in a young, impoverished Billy and trains him for a
ballet audition.
Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (of Sing Street), as Miles, is charming as the cute boy in school
who Ruby has a crush on. Their scenes occasionally pull away from the main drama
(about the fishing community and disability issues) to form a sweet romance and
mini-musical. Ruby and Miles practice for a show by singing a duet, with Miles on the
guitar. This subplot is a welcome distraction, giving the overall drama some room to
breathe.
There are broadly four subplots which are juggled throughout this film: the first is the
Rossi family navigating their space in the larger community; the second consists of the
fishers standing up to local authority; the third sees Ruby discovering her passion for
music and chasing her dreams while defying her parents; and the fourth is her little
romance with Miles. This variety in subplots and moods make it seem like ‘CODA’ falls
under more than one genre: social commentary, coming-of-age, and the musical can all be appropriate words to describe this film. It is this very ability of ‘CODA’ to switch
between different genres that makes the film consistently engaging.
While some scenes are obviously lighthearted – as they are meant to be – this only helps in rendering the other scenes more intense and dramatic. Think of the scene where Ruby tries to explain why she enjoys music so much. Mr. V asks her what it is about music that moves her. Ruby can’t quite put her feelings into words, till she realises that she can explain them… just not with words. Then we get a lengthy, unbroken take of Ruby silently hand signing her feelings with passionate fervour in a way she never could with speech. It is one of the most powerful moments in ‘CODA’. Having deaf loved ones will always be a part of Ruby. Being a “CODA” will always be part of Ruby’s experience, it’s who she is. Another powerful scene which has Ruby communicate in sign language is at the climactic audition where Ruby’s family sit down to watch the teen sing Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”.
Ruby notices them sitting on the balcony and decides to do an impromptu hand-signing interpretation of the classic song. She doesn’t care that the
judges might be confused at her seemingly silly gestures. This is her way to connect
with her deaf family who can’t hear her. Her way to convey to her parents why she feels a calling towards music. This scene also makes us realise how crucial it is for concerts and plays to have an interpreter, and how significant their existence can be in shaping the ‘moments’ of a hearing impaired person. These interpreters can beautifully connect different people who experience reality in two different ways by acting as a medium bridging two worlds. Ruby often finds herself being assigned this role of the medium, the connector of two worlds.
The scene also makes us realise that music is just as much for deaf people as it is for
those who are not. Deaf people enjoy music. Frank, for instance, loves to play hip hop
music in his car as loud as possible so he can feel the bass booming. The thumping
feels like a drug, giving the dad the adrenaline he craves. However, besides this,
scenes of the family connecting with music are few and far between. It is intentionally
shown for the parents to not enjoy music ‘too much’ so that the divide between Ruby’s
experiences with music and the family’s experiences with the same can seem drastic,
thus creating the main conflict in the movie.
But scenes of the deaf family members being left confused by music – and not understanding it – could possibly contribute to the false notion that deaf people cannot enjoy music. This concern was voiced by sensitivity reader Jenna Beacom, via Twitter, who also argued that the film minimised the capabilities of the deaf characters by portraying them as helpless without the non-deaf Ruby.
This problem could possibly have been smoothed over with an additional scene where
the parents find a way to afford an interpreter for themselves so that Ruby can be free
to go away to college. Or having the family find a way to connect and maintain
relationships with the larger community by using their disability, and not in spite of it…
Besides these flaws, ‘CODA’ remains a sweet, gentle drama about love and following
your dreams. British actress Emilia Jones expertly plays the American Ruby Rossi. Troy
Kotsur, as Rossi’s dad Frank, is a real-life deaf actor who steals the scenes with his
excellently timed comic scenes and sign acting. The ocean visuals are mesmerising, and the filming of the Rossi family’s fishing routine is rendered like a poetic
documentary helmed by Chloe Zhao or Debra Granik.
Sian Heder (Tallulah, 2016) does a splendid job with directing the cast, and it’s even
more commendable to know that this is only her second feature. I am enthusiastic to
see more from this humanistic and sensitive filmmaker.
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