The chirping of birds, the hearty laugh of a loved one, raindrops on the window or a favorite song – almost all of us have felt a certain comfort in these and many such sounds throughout our lives. But imagine a world without any of them. A world full of nothing but silence, which would become hard to bear for any of us after just a few minutes. But such a world, where none of these sounds will ever be heard, is inherited by people who are deaf from birth – who will never learn what anything sounds like. Naturally, this causes significant challenges in learning the spoken language. But all is not lost as they often rely on a sign language to communicate with others thus leading a relatively fulfilling life.
The term ‘CODA’ refers to a ‘Child Of Deaf Adult’ where one or both of their parents are deaf. Statistically, a very high percentage of codas (with both deaf parents) have normal hearing and often serve as a bridge between their parents and the hearing world. The movie tells the story of one such teenager, Ruby who lives in Gloucester, MA. Her family consists of her deaf parents Frank and Jackie as well as her deaf older brother Leo, making her the only member who can hear and speak. She often helps out her father and brother on their fishing trips and acts as the de facto interpreter when dealing with the local fishing board who is their customer. In a small-town, close-knit community where her family has always stood out, Ruby has had to grow up quickly to be their voice and identity.
At school, Ruby has no major aspirations and she has kind of accepted her fate of growing up and helping out in her family fishing business. Her ability to speak or hear is a thing of privilege in her house, so her family’s needs have always been more important. But Ruby has another special gift – she is a natural singer. Although not formally trained, she enrolls in a choir to be with Miles – a boy in her class that she likes. Mr. Villalobos, her music teacher recognizes her potential and encourages her to audition for the Berklee school of music. Although hesitant at first, Ruby gradually develops a liking for singing. Her passion for singing starts to grow but unfortunately, their family business hits some snags and it becomes hard for them to make ends meet. Even when Ruby finds it tough to balance her own passion with her familial commitments, Mr. Villalobos never loses faith in her. She eventually overcomes her inner struggles and is able to rise to the occasion.
Comments:
The story of ‘Coda’ is straightforward and predictable. But what stands out are the rich characters and the chemistry between them. We are drawn into the life of this unique family from the very beginning and can sense the strong bond that’s shared by its members. Each of these characters must have gone through so many complex emotions throughout their life time. The parents would have felt alienated and lonely while growing up as no one around would know how it feels to be like them. But as an adult, they must have been delighted to find a similar partner who finally understands them fully. For an older brother, it must not be easy to be taken for granted or be mocked occasionally by the neighborhood kids. It must be hard for the ego to always depend on one’s younger sister for most things and a feeling of jealousy to some degree would be inevitable. And how about the ‘coda’? Growing up, there would be some shame or embarrassment at times. Then there would be guilt, about their ability to do simple things that everyone, but their family members, takes for granted. There would be an immense sense of responsibility towards the family which would be a driving factor in all their decisions, big or small. It must be hard to imagine a life without being there to help them in their need. And hence, there could be resentment to some degree due to the fact that their entire life revolves around their family. No matter how much you love them, it hurts when you lose your sense of self and have to sacrifice important things for the larger good.
At the start of the movie, Ruby’s singing is carefree and unrestrained. She is humming and singing loudly on the family’s fishing boat, partly because of its loud engine and partly because she is not burdened with life’s responsibilities. However, at other times when she is conscious of other’s expectations of her, her voice feels shackled. Ruby’s struggle to break free from the family is also depicted very well in the movie. Although she is deeply attached to them, there’s a part of her who wants to do normal things like dating a boy, hanging out with friends and follow her passions. So it hits her hard when her day of fun with her friend Miles turns into a mini-disaster for the family. She feels guilty of letting her family down and almost gives up on her dream of singing. Here, I liked the character of her brother who although dejected and disappointed at Ruby for letting the family down, also convinces her to continue pursuing her dream.
All her hard work is put to test when Mr. Villalobos selects Ruby and Miles for a duet to be performed at the school function. The scene where her family is going to see her perform on stage for the first time is remarkable. Right in the middle of the concert, the parents are shown discussing their dinner plans for the night. Their inability to hear their daughter sing and hence appreciate her talent makes them seem quite insensitive. But midway through Ruby and Miles’ touching duet “You’re all I need to get by”, the director drowns out the sound completely leaving us to experience the concert from the parents’ perspective. It is when they see people around them engrossed in the song, some nodding their heads, some smiling while some other with tears in their eyes, they realize the power of their daughter’s voice. The sound of silence is deafening in this touching scene.
I also liked the final audition scene where Ruby is slightly unprepared and nervous. Due to her anxiety, she is not in her element but Mr. Villalobos comes to her rescue when he hits an off-key note intentionally on the piano and gets her to restart her song. Ruby sees her family watching her from the balcony and gains confidence from seeing them – her biggest source of strength. For Ruby’s Berklee music school audition, the director couldn’t have picked a better song than Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”. Just like the clouds that she’s seen from both sides, she has now experienced life from both sides too. Earlier, her identity was tied to her family and now there’s her, who has different aspirations and needs from life than her family. In this transition, there’s always going to be something lost and something gained. And there’s no easy answer to truly determine which version is right. In an extremely moving gesture, she suddenly enacts the song in sign language to her family who are there to support her, thus accepting both sides of her life instead of making a choice.
Cast and Crew:
Emilia Jones, the British actress who plays the titular ‘coda’ Ruby Rossi, is the star of the movie. She learned the American Sign Language in preparation for this role. It’s a tough role where she has to portray several emotions and she does a wonderful job. Her scenes with her music teacher are some of the more memorable ones.
The Mexican actor Euginio Derbez plays the role of Mr. Villalobos or Mr. ‘V’ to perfection. He is demanding, but at the same time very supportive, of his students. His character is like a father figure to Ruby who motivates her and sticks by her in her pursuit of music. He is a great mentor to Ruby and helps her realize her potential.
The three actors who play Ruby’s family members are all deaf actors. Troy Kotsur, won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Ruby’s father. He shares a few poignant scenes with his daughter in the movie including the one where after realizing Ruby’s talent during the school choir he asks her to sing for him again that night. Marlee Matlin, who plays Ruby’s mother, is a well established actress herself. She’s the youngest recipient of theAcademy Award for Best Actress when she won the award at age 21 for ‘Children of Lesser God‘. She is wonderful in several scenes like the school choir and her scenes with Ruby. Finally, Daniel Durant plays Ruby’s brother Leo. You feel sorry for his character when he gets involved in a bar fight. There’s also a great scene where he is angry at Ruby for her carelessness in not accompanying them on the boat during the inspection. But even then, he tells her to not forgo her dream of becoming a good singer because he has seen her sing and is a proud brother.
Final Thoughts:
Coda is based on the French language Belgian movie La familie Belier (2014). However, Bollywood has brought this story to life much earlier than that in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Khamoshi The Musical (1996) – a film also known for melodious songs as much as its effective handling of this sensitive topic.
Coda is a poignant and touching tale of a unique Massachusetts family and is highly recommended. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 2021 ceremony – making Apple TV the first streaming service to claim that award.
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