CODA - Review

CODA - standing for child of deaf adults - is in many ways a typical coming-of-age story; it centres a highschool student dealing with making decisions about their future, discovering their own interests and finding their first love. Yet, as the only hearing person in her family of four, Ruby has to contend with all this whilst also considering that following her dreams of singing could not only jeopardise the family fishing business but also disrupt the unit as a whole. It is a thoughtful yet warm portrait of a family at a crossroads and a young woman joyously exploring her newfound love for music, whilst also managing to be a potent exploration of class despite its somewhat unimaginative cinematography.

The class in question is first and foremost financial as the family struggles with declining support for the fishing industry and middle-men whose only function is to pay them as little as they can get away with. Yet, it is also clearly social as they are initially depicted on the outskirts of the community as a result of their deafness or rather

due to hearing people’s unwillingness to communicate. The older brother Leo, who mans the boat alongside Ruby and their father, struggles with this notion in particular as he strives for more independence and

responsibility. For example, he is visibly frustrated when Ruby takes over price negotiations for their

fish as, despite the fact she secured a better price, he was not allowed his own space to figure

things out by himself. This perceived tension between individuality and cooperation is at the heart

of this story, not only in the arc of Leo but also in Ruby’s choices for the future and the evolution

of the larger fishing community as a whole. Ultimately, this is a tension that the film can equally

embrace and question, yet always in a manner that feels thoughtful and humanistic. This is

most potent in a later scene where Ruby fuses the two worlds of her passion for music and her

place within her deaf family by simultaneously signing and singing, the result is a deeply

emotionally affecting scene that illustrates that moving away does not necessarily mean leaving

behind.

However, the expressive and uniquely individual signing is not reflected in the film’s rather

unambitious visual aesthetic that mainly consists of sets that would not look out of place in

most streaming shows. In addition, the story’s scope can sometimes get in the way of Ruby’s self-exploration as the romantic subplot between her and a fellow choir singer feels slightly underdeveloped. It is not that their connection is not believable but rather in and amongst the other considered and nuanced characters, the love interest of Miles appears to fit a bit too neatly into his movie boyfriend role.

Nevertheless, the film ultimately shines through its relatively minor shortcomings and cleverly reshapes the coming-of-age mould for the specific experience of Ruby as a CODA - ultimately resulting in an affecting picture that chooses genuine emotion over movie cliché and community over individualism.