Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) is the only one in her family that is not deaf. As such, she often takes on many of the interfacing duties in the family fishing boat, captained by her father, Frank (Troy Kotsur), and her older brother Leo (Daniel Durant). The early morning work hours leave her tired for school each day, and as she begins to pursue her interest in singing the demands of the family business and the demands of the choir begin to grow and take up all of her time, she must decide whether to continue the path of her dreams or to stay and be loyal and helpful to the family. 

CODA, an abbreviated term for Child of Deaf Adults, is written and directed by Sian Heder for Apple Studios. The feel-good family drama set a Sundance acquisition record, going to the tech giant for a hefty $25 million, but its widespread positive reception and awards performance seem to make it a good buy. At its heart, it is a coming-of-age dramady, but it brings in the whole family as they all must grow and learn together in the midst of this changing dynamic. To that end, it helps to deepen the narrative as it is not just Ruby struggling with where to go to college, but the problems faced are much bigger than that and strengthen the film overall. 

The script does try to do it all – the family drama, the high school romantic comedy, the coming-of-age lessons – and to varying degrees of success. The driving narrative is the family drama, and the entire Rossi family displays great chemistry. The sibling relationship feels very true and lived in as Ruby and Leo banter back and forth with each other. Further, Ruby shares a tender moment with each of her parents that, while heavy-handed, works well in context. The one that has been making the rounds is a scene late in the film with Frank and Ruby after the concert, but the one that really drives some of the contentions around the film is earlier, before the concert, when Ruby’s mom, Jackie (Marlee Matlin) shows her the red dress she bought her for the performance. It is here where we really begin to see the struggles from both sides stem from a mutual fear of letting one another down. Understanding that shared experience is vital for the third act to work.   

It is unfortunate, however, that in the third act the script really leans into the high school romcom tropes. There were touches of it in the first act with the unlikely best friend Gertie (Amy Forsyth), the insufferable, cliché-ridden music teacher Mr. V (Eugenio Derbez), and the bumbling awkward chemistry between Ruby and her duet partner, Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), but mostly those scenes were all taken in stride as subplots to the far more interesting dock drama. As the film turns into its closing act, however, those teenage troubles take center stage and all the absurd rule-bending that resolves many a college choice conundrum comes with it. These moments of convenience really deter from an otherwise grounded narrative, and it comes off feeling cheap, like one of any other number of romcom offerings. It is hard to say it is a bait and switch from the marketing department trying to get butts into seats, but feels more like a betrayal on behalf of Heder who was telling us a much more engaging story only to turn it into dime-a-dozen first love blues. 

Thankfully, though, Heder knows how to set a scene and the film looks very nice and is very visually engaging without relying on many tricks. During the concert while Ruby and Miles are performing, we do not get to hear the song in its entirety, rather Heder cuts the sound and we experience the performance in the same silence that Frank, Jackie, and Leo do. It is one of the only moments in the film where we are placed into this kind of experience and because of its singularity, it really works well. The cutaways – the woman smiling, the man beating along with the tune, another woman moved to tears – the message is clearly received and understood by the Rossi’s that their daughter has something special to share with the world. 

CODA is a simple and pleasant enough film that can easily find a wide audience. Its script is bogged down by trying to serve too much in its 111 minute runtime and a little more focus would have greatly improved the overall experience, as well as a retooling of the ending. Despite those stumblings, the cast all deliver great performances and watching the Rossi family grow closer together is an absolute joy. There is true care shown to the characters who help to raise awareness to the roadblocks that millions of people face every day, but it never treats the Rossi’s as an exhibition or sympathy bait, rather they are people will full lives and careers – not defined by or hindered by their deafness – and that is the most important thing when it comes to representation. This is a story that on face value may seem very targeted, but in actuality, it is a story about a family that loves each other even when they do not always know how best to show it.