film fatales #198: coda (siân heder, 2021)

This is the twenty-fifth film I have watched in "My Letterboxd Season Challenge 2023-24", "A 33 week long challenge where the goal each week is to watch a previously unseen feature length film from a specified category." This is the 9th annual challenge, and my fifth time participating (previous years can be found at "2019-20", "2020-21", "2021-22", and "2022-23"). Week 25 is called "Good for Her Week":

Here at the Letterboxd Season Challenge, we support women's rights as well as women's wrongs. To quote Claira Curtis, "Is there really anything better than thinking “good for her” while a woman achieves her dreams or receives an end to her story that is actually satisfying? NO!!!"

This week's challenge is to watch a film from Claira Curtis' "Good for Her" Cinematic Universe.

Along with awards for Best Supporting Actor Troy Kotsur and Best Adapted Screenplay for director Siân Heder, CODA won the Oscar for Best Picture. By now, I've seen all the nominees, and while CODA was not the Best Picture of 2021 (that would be Summer of Soul, which wasn't nominated), there was only one nominated movie I'd place clearly above CODA (Drive My Car). (There weren't many nominees that were clearly worse than CODA, as well ... I'm a fan of Licorice Pizza, but it's not great, and I'd say the same about others, like The Power of the Dog, West Side Story, and Don't Look Up ... only King Richard of the nominees was an embarrassment in such lofty company.) Yes, as always there were films ignored for Best Picture (Petite Maman, Flee, Judas and the Black Messiah), but CODA earned its consideration ... it's a fine film.

So I have no intention of damning CODA with faint praise ... it's a successful, feel-good movie. It's easy to underestimate it, because in many ways it adheres to a formula (young girl blossoms, is held back by circumstances, but triumphs in the end). But it's really good in its formulaic efforts ... you root for the girl, you root for her family, you get choked up with emotion at the end. And none of the emotions are cheaply elicited ... CODA affects us without pounding us with obvious tear-jerking moments.

Of course, the main difference here is the representation of deaf characters (title is an acronym for Children of Deaf Adults). The deaf characters are played by deaf actors ... Marlee Matlin we know (she is herself an Oscar winner), and Troy Kotsur won an Oscar for this film. These characters are one of the reasons CODA isn't merely formulaic.

Not everyone in the deaf community was happy with CODA, but as someone outside that community, I'd say the overall response was more positive than negative. But I admit, even as I was watching it and liking it, I never thought I was watching a classic. OK, you're a fool if you think a Best Picture Oscar signifies a great movie, but I was surprised that CODA was good-not-great.

Young Emilia Jones was impressive as the girl ... she's new to me. CODA is worth seeing ... I don't want to suggest otherwise.

[Letterboxd list of my Top 15 Films of 2021]

Comments

[Tomás]

I agree totally with your review. It had me wondering whether at this point in movie history we prize originality over familiarity. This movie might not be great but it moves in a genre with a certain level of mastery, no? And that the genre is one relying on emotion and I didn't feel manipulated--I mean the feels are genuine in this film, and I bought it knowing what I was buying. But why don't I see this as better? I can't describe flaws. I don't know.

[Steven Rubio]

Yes, and I'm always on the look out for cheap appeals to our emotion, but this was lacking in CODA. One thing I forgot to mention was the use of The Shaggs as a marker of alt-coolness. I've always had a complicated relationship to them, so I understood why the girl had their album and the boyfriend liked them, too. But it's almost too easy. (I did appreciate that they used the all-time Shaggs song, "My Pal Foot Foot".)

This is a great mashup somebody did:

https://youtu.be/rALvhn-laqQ?si=g8htQmqq4su_07dR