PHOTO CREDIT: APPLE TV+
CODA’S sweep at this year’s Sundance – it won all four major awards at the festival.
“CODA” contains a great many elements familiar to this kind of movie. It’s about a restless teenager trying to break free from her parent’s expectations.
Jones, whom I’d never seen before is a movie star. She will earn an Oscar nomination for her performance here. And if things work out have a career trajectory like that of Emma Stone. I only hope that she avoids the allure of a Marvel movie.
In Coda, she plays the teenager Ruby Rossi the only hearing member of a culturally Deaf family that has been in the fishing line for generations. When Ruby in the spur of the moment decides to join the school choir and pursue her passion for singing.
He playfully puts her in the very awkward position of collaborating on a duet with her childhood crush. Not that the film needs it but it wouldn’t really be a high-school movie without some young love.
Coda is so understandable in its manner that it’s easy to forget just how grave some of its themes are. And how confidently Heder navigates them.
Coda is primarily in American Sign Language — a rich, expressive form of communication. It stars three Deaf actors in central roles. Each of whom is deserving of awards attention. Heder directs with empathy and an astute eye. Her camera hovers over arms and legs reading body language on her characters behalf.
An Oscar for Apple, in the same awards season that Ted Lasso dominated the Emmys would do more brand-building for the tech giant than a keynote . Beg, borrow, or steal an iPhone; Coda can’t be missed.