CODA
Apple TV+Presenting its choice between family and the dream of living beyond her seafaring town, CODA provides the integral narrative threads that every drama of this style does. Pulled between care for her parents and immediate family, but also longing for a music career. There are readings and topics director Sian Heder would like to demonstrate and employ within this music drama that feels inherently obvious and ties to the piece's tone and structure so immediately. There is comfort in that, but the social challenges of high school rear their ugly, inevitably predictable heads once more to make CODA a less-than-desirable piece of coming-of-age dramatics with a unique angle to it.
Deaf family members surround Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones), whose sudden urge to join the choir sparks an interest in an unknown talent. Heder does well to show the difficulty Rossi has, hearing when her family cannot. The clatter of dishes and cutlery are awful at the best of times, but when her family do not know the sound it makes or the issue it causes, the divide grows and CODA becomes all the stronger for it. Audiences can infer from actions and reactions the process of the story, and the ups and downs this family has. But that only lingers for a little bit, the real focus is on Rossi, who is at that inevitable crossroads of growing up and flying the family nest. Jones’ performance is magnificent, although the tone Heder takes with the simplistic notes of cultural references and what it means for the confidence of the character is not subtle or even that interesting.
Bob Dylan is mentioned, the character is soon nicknamed “Bob” for she has something to say, no matter what her singing voice sounds like. It is meant to be touching and meaningful but comes through as uncoordinated and crass. Perhaps it is that desire for comedy that makes it so. Heder works with her comedic notes, but many of them feel at the behest of disability, rather than working along with it. For instance, there are great moments, the awkward family trip to the doctor's office, but the radio being too loud describes several problems Heder presumably didn’t think of with these scenes. She accidentally uncovers some marvellous moments, but at the behest of some awfully contrived or ridiculously predictable scenes.
Quaint at times, CODA is a safe piece that provides representation for a community underrepresented by the silver screen. Bright, light, but feeling somewhat underwhelming as well. It is the usual desire to escape from the family's comfort and safety net, which is well-intentioned yet annoying at times for Rossi. That is enough to convince her of a need to attempt a new and sudden dream. She stumbles into something she is rather good at and wishes to pursue it with no real plan or knowledge for what the future could hold. A nice breath of fresh air is compelling enough to give CODA some credence, but not enough to mount the issue of its uneventful, predictable storyline.