CODA

I am pretty difficult to please when it comes to films – though there are those that I love deeply. Back in the day – when one used to go to a ‘Video Store’ to rent a VHS movie for the night – I would find myself wandering round and round in despair, unable to find anything that appealed. These days, of course, one can achieve the same effect on Netflix without moving from the comfort of one’s sofa. Netflix – incidentally – apparently uses sophisticated Artificial Intelligence to determine what to push as recommendations to eager punters. With me it just gives up and offers any old rubbish!

Hmmm! Where was I?…

Oh yes…

Irregardless (definitely a word – first used in print in 1795!) I do sometimes encounter a film which completely restores my faith in the whole business of movie-making. Such was the case recently with one of last year’s Sundance Festival award-winning movies – ‘CODA’ – the which we discovered on Apple+.

Rotten Tomatoes offers this synopsis of the movie:

“Seventeen-year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones) is the sole hearing member of a deaf family — a CODA, child of deaf adults. Her life revolves around acting as interpreter for her parents (Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur) and working on the family’s struggling fishing boat every day before school with her father and older brother (Daniel Durant). But when Ruby joins her high school’s choir club, she discovers a gift for singing and soon finds herself drawn to her duet partner Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo). Encouraged by her enthusiastic, tough-love choirmaster (Eugenio Derbez) to apply to a prestigious music school, Ruby finds herself torn between the obligations she feels to her family and the pursuit of her own dreams”.

“Well“! – you may think – “that sounds like pretty much every coming-of-age movie that I have ever seen”… and you would be right. I don’t have to worry too much about spoilers because you could probably write the movie yourself without having seen it. In this instance – however – narrative suspense and unforeseen plot-twists are not the point.

What is the point is that CODA is beautifully written, hitting all the right notes – beautifully characterised and acted, particularly by Brit (you’d never know!) Emilia Jones and deaf actors Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotspur and Daniel Durant – beautifully shot, in the fishing village of Gloucester, Massachusetts – and beautifully judged, making you laugh, long and out loud, as well as blubbing like a baby!

The film brought home to me once again (not that I really needed it to) the vital importance of music – and, of course, of family!

Don’t take my word for it, however. I strongly urge you to seek CODA out and to watch it for yourself.