CODA

Emilia Jones delivers an emotionally moving performance as Ruby Rossi, a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) who is torn between her passion for sound and her obligation to help her family members (mom, dad, and brother are all deaf) navigate their soundless world. The performances of the deaf actors (Troy Kotsur as Ruby’s fisherman father; Marlee Matlin as her mother; and Daniel Durant as her brother) add a depth of realism that helps the film transcend the more romanticized, fairy tale elements of a script that covers a lot of ground in a short span: the development of Ruby’s vocal talent by a curmudgeonly high school chorus teacher; her budding romance with her duet partner in choir; and the inner-workings of the fishing industry on the Massachusetts coast. Other details of Ruby’s complicated life are only mentioned in passing - like the fact that as a young child it was her duty to order her parents’ beers when they were in restaurants. The film’s closing act involves two familiar songs - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “You’re All I Need to Get By” and Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”  - that underscore the ultimate message of the work: how much we need other people to help us serve in a world of endless dualities - personal and familial, sound and soundless. Find CODA on AppleTV and watch it with a box of Kleenex nearby.