Coda Preview

A Coda is the concluding passage of a musical piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure.  This, of course, has a triple-meaning in the Best Picture nominated film Coda.  The Rossi family are a fishing family in Gloucester, Massachusetts.  And everyone pitches in, including 17 year old high school student Ruby (Emilia Jones).  Unlike the rest of her family, Ruby has dreams outside of the fishing business: she loves music and wants to study it in college.  But that's not all the separates her from the rest of her family.  Her father Frank (Troy Kotsur), her mother Jackie (Marlee Matlin), and her brother Leo (Daniel Durant) are all deaf.  CODA is also an acronym for Child Of Deaf Adults.  There's your triple-meaning: the musical meaning, the acronym, and what I assume is an allusion to the ending of the movie - the concluding passage that is an addition to the basic structure.

And there's another twist: the family is seen in court and a judge rules that there must be a hearing capable person on their fishing boat at all times.  Ruby is faced with the dilemma of staying home to keep her family's business and livelihood alive, or pursuing her own life and her own dreams by going to college to study music.

Coda was written and directed by Sian Heder earning her Oscar nominations for Best Picture of the Year and Best Adapted Screenplay.  Troy Kotsur also earned himself a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.   This is only Heder's second motion picture she directed, though she's been in the industry as an actress, writer and director for quite some time.  

This film was actually strongly recommended by my friend Erika and I should have watched this long ago.    It's also at this point that I need to remind you of the significance of my rating system.  My stars are given based on three criteria: how accurately the preview represented the movie, the movie in and of itself, and the likelihood of me watching it again and owning the movie in my personal collection.  A lower rating doesn't necessarily mean a bad movie.  I can see a movie and agree it is worthy of nominations and awards; however, if seeing it once is enough for me and I'll likely never see it again and definitely won't own it, it gets a lower score.  Conversely, a movie not nominated for anything can get a higher rating if I plan to watch it again and own it.  So, on to my prediction:

Coda looks like a heartwarming, sincere, humorous drama about a girl torn between her family and her passion to live her own life.  We can see in the preview how this decision is destroying her inside.  What makes the decision even tougher is that she has a great family.  They support her and they support each other.  And they are funny.  We see a scene at the dinner table talking about the Tinder dating app.  Her mother has no reservations about helping son Leo filter through the app and comments, "Tinder is something we can do as a family."  Ruby can be seen completely embarrassed, like any normal teenager would be in that situation.  But the family is sweet, loving, and completely bonded together.

That being said, I'm giving Coda a 3.0 Star Prediction.  While it looks charming, touching, and funny, it looks like one of those movies where seeing it once will probably be enough for me.  Maybe again if I'm scrolling through with not much else to watch, but most likely not earning a place in my home collection.  Remember, that doesn't mean I won't think it worthy of nominations or awards.  And it's just a prediction based on the preview.  So, am I right?  We shall see . . .