Stream It Or Skip It: ‘CODA’ On Apple TV+, A Heartfelt Dramedy About A Deaf Family & Their Hearing Daughter

It’s not often we see deaf actors get to play deaf characters; time and time again, hearing performers have filled these roles on screens both in the theater and at home. CODA, now streaming on Apple TV+, tells the story of a deaf family – all played by deaf actors – and their hearing daughter. The film won hearts (and awards) when it premiered at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and now you can stream it from the comfort of home. 

CODA: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) is a shy 17-year-old living with her family in Gloucester, Massachusetts. She spends her days working on the family fishing boat, biking around town, and slouching down the halls of her high school, where she’s frequently teased. Ruby is also a CODA, or a Child of Deaf Adults – she’s the only hearing member of her family. Her mother, Jackie (Marlee Matlin), father Frank (Troy Katsur), and older brother Leo (Daniel Durant) all rely on Ruby heavily when it comes to connecting them to the hearing world, particularly down at the docks, where fishermen like Frank are being ripped off by buyers.

While Ruby does her best to help keep her family’s business afloat, she’s also fallen in love with singing – and she’s good. Her tough-love choir teacher Mr. Villalobos (Eugenio Derbez) takes notice of her talent and offers to coach her for a Berklee College of Music audition, a notion her parents can’t quite wrap their heads around – especially because they have no idea if she can actually sing. As the stakes grow higher and Ruby’s future hangs in the mix, the teen and her family must make some big decisions about their respective paths.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: CODA might remind you of coming-of-age films like The Edge of Seventeen and Lady Bird, though there’s much more focus on the family here.

Performance Worth Watching: The whole cast does some dazzling, delicate work, but the Emilia Jones truly turns in a star-making performance as Ruby. Jones evokes Mary Elizabeth Winstead or Michelle Monaghan in their early days on screen, all eyes and heart and emotion. She’s simply delightful as Ruby, a character that could easily slip into cliche territory but feels one-of-a-kind in her hands. At only 19, this is surely only the beginning for Jones, a genuinely dazzling young performer who helps make CODA as magical and memorable as it is.

Memorable Dialogue: There are so many great lines in CODA, both signed and spoken; an early line from Ruby’s BFF Gertie as Ruby signed up for choir made me chuckle: “If you start beat-boxin’, or doing that cup-clappin’ thing, you know, we’re done.” And then there were some truly golden quips from Ruby’s parents – including “You know why God made farts smell? So deaf people could enjoy them too,” and “Tinder is something we can all do as a family.”

Sex and Skin: There’s some frantic making out in a closet and a hilarious interrupted parental sex session, but it’s all pretty tame.

Our Take: CODA, for all the familiar twists and turns it takes, is a deeply special film. It’s true that there’s a gorgeous universality that comes from specificity, and that is very much the case with CODA, a story about a unique family that may very well wind up feeling like your own by the time the film is over. In creating extensive scenes that almost exclusively consist of sign language, writer/director Sian Heder does something pretty remarkable. Opportunities to watch deaf actors play deaf roles and sign on screen are way more rare than they should be, making CODA feel like a welcome breath of fresh air.

While Emilia Jones delivers a star-making performance as Ruby, this film really belongs to its deaf performers. The Rossis are such a fascinating group of people, each developed with love and care; they feel like they’re living their own lives and playing the main characters in their own stories, rather than simply existing to serve Ruby. I would watch a 10-season long sitcom about the Rossis; between Jackie’s casual self-absorption, Frank’s uproarious sense of humor, and Leo’s dreams of something more, there would truly be endless stories to tell. This family dynamic lends itself to some rich, arresting scenes, and it’s a testament to both the writing and the performances that every moment lands as effectively as it does.

CODA may be a somewhat predictable story, but is imbued with a soulful sentimentality, a true sense of empathy for its characters and their respective journeys. In shining a light on a deaf family and sign language in the way it does, the film opens the door for more stories of this nature – and more deaf people center stage. CODA the kind of movie that brings out laughter and tears in equal measures, the cinematic equivalent of a warm, long overdue hug. It’s definitely one I’ll come back to again and again.

Our Call: STREAM IT. CODA is a magical little movie with a giant heart, generous in substance and its sense of humor. It’s not often we see this kind of family depicted on screen, and CODA does it beautifully.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.

Stream CODA on Apple TV+