Coda
Looking back at Oscar Best Picture winners over the past few years, I realised that I haven't reviewed Coda, the film that won last year. And whilst it could not be more different to Everything Everywhere All At Once, the beauty of the film industry is that it is one that evolves. All I can say is thank god that there are no 'trends' in the industry.
CODA [2022]
Starring: Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, Dainel Durant
Direction and Screenplay by Sian Heder
Language: English
I really benefitted from the inauguration of Apple TV in my region: it was launched just as CODA was released on the platform. What I loved the most about this movie was the fact that there was a different kind of diversity presented in this picture: not one of racial or ethnic diversity, but one of a diversity in ability. When was the last time you saw a movie with people hard of hearing right at the centre? Never? I thought so.
And whilst I was completely sure that 'The Power of the Dog' would win (much to my dismay, by the way), I was glad that Coda won. I think everybody needed a feel-good movie to round 2020 off.
I won't lie, it was a little bit slow. The story was beautifully crafted and all, and I understand that perhaps the slower paced parts were needed in the dramatic parts of the movie, or maybe these scenes were for cinematography! The movie was shot in a beautiful location: a sleepy seaside town somewhere in the northeast of the US. I don't need dramatic cliffs or rolling vistas to keep me interested in a movie.
Unfortunately, Sian Heder could not escape the most overdone clichés related to teenagers and their actions. Whilst the situation of the main character, Ruby, was vastly different to the typical struggles of popularity and power struggles, the narrative of a teenager struggling and eventually finding solace in a passion that changes her is so overdone. The actress handled it well, but the character was written quite badly.
I think that all of the roles in the main family were fairly typical: Marlin played the role of a rash, sometimes overbearing mother that has a relatively troubled with her daughter. The dad, played by Kotsur, was an understanding ‘good cop’ for Ruby. But, this level of understanding, especially between a fully able daughter and a person with his own disabilities made it 1000 times more poignant. Loved him!
A story of a troubled teenage experience, the premise of the story is one that has been done so many times before. It was just the added level of difficulty through the communication gap that made the story a lot more interesting.
I generally rely on the Academy and their nominations to actually find interesting films: I live far away from the US, and so a lot of the more critically acclaimed, smaller films don’t come into theaters where I live. I was glad that there has finally been a bit of a spin on the overdone teenage story, but, at the time, I wished that there was a little bit more of a difference in movies nominated for the Oscars. Writing this in 2023, I think that the Academy definitely fulfilled my wish: if Everything Everywhere All At Once is not different to anything seen before, I don’t know what is.
Overall, it was all pretty good - worth a watch despite its shortcomings.
8/10
