Not Enough People Talk About How Good CODA Is These Days, So I'm Going To

Do you know what Best Picture winners I constantly hear people talking about? Parasite (and for good reason!), Oppenheimer, and Everything Everywhere All at Once. But, do you know what Best Picture winner I pretty much NEVER hear anybody talking about? 2021's CODA, which is an acronym for Child of Deaf Adults.

And, like, why is that? When it actually won, it felt momentous. The story of a daughter who is torn between her dreams of going to a school for singing, or helping her deaf family with their fishing business, CODA is probably one of the best Best Picture winners in the past ten years.

But, you probably wouldn't know that if you're not paying attention to things like that. So, here’s why I think more people should talk about CODA.

Yes, It's A Movie About Family, But It's Primarily A Movie About Sacrifice

For anybody who might not have seen CODA, what they probably do know about it is that it's a movie about the divide that often, unfortunately, exists between people who can hear, and those who can't. And yes, the movie is certainly about that, but it's not just about that. It's also a movie about family, as well as the sacrifice it sometimes takes to be a good member of said family.

The film focuses on a teenager named Ruby (Emilia Jones) who is the only member of her family who can hear. Her father (played by deaf actor Troy Kotsur), is a fisherman, and he needs Ruby aboard his vessel because hearing is an important part of the job.

Also on the ship is Ruby's older brother, Leo (Daniel Durant) who doesn't like how invaluable his sister is to the business since he feels it devalues his contributions. Then you have their mother, Jackie (played by Marlee Matlin, who was the first deaf person to ever win an Oscar for acting back in 1987). She doesn’t think much of her daughter's singing because she believes Ruby might be bad at it. But, in truth, she's actually worried that her daughter’s good at it and might leave them all behind.

So, it sounds like this is a movie about family, and it is, but it's more about the sacrifice people need to make in a family when they truly love each other. That's the main story here, and it's super effective. I just wish more people talked about that aspect of the film.

Unlike The Artist, The Silence In CODA Doesn't Feel Gimmicky, And Is Instead Vital To The Actual Story

A while ago, I ranked every Best Picture winner from the 2010s, and I put The Artist dead last. Now, it's not that I think it's a “bad” movie, per se. That said, I don't think it's anything special, and a big part of that is because I think it's gimmicky. Because as somebody who actually likes silent movies, I don't feel like The Artist was actually interested in replicating that time period. In every way - to me anyway - the silent aspect felt like it was cheating.

But for CODA, the occasional silence is not only necessary, it's a vital part of the film as a whole. The family's deafness - and the way it both connects and divides them - plays a huge role in the themes of family and sacrifice that I mentioned earlier.

Ruby is the bridge between the small deaf community that is her family, and the hearing population. When we see scenes of her family “hearing” silence, we are put in their everyday lives. The silence isn't a gimmick. It makes the story feel lived in and real.

The story honestly wouldn't be the same if we didn't have moments of the family doing sign language in silence. When the patriarch of the family says his only word in the entire film - “Go!” - it truly hits. It's why CODA is a great Best Picture winner, and The Artist is, well, just The Artist.

The Acting In This Is Also Excellent

You know what? I think I know why people don't talk about CODA as much as they should. It's because of the slap, and how that sucked all of the energy out of that particular awards ceremony. It doesn't help that Will Smith also won Best Actor that very same night, meaning the talk was squarely on him, both for what he did, and also for whether he should have been awarded at all after he did it.

However, besides CODA winning Best Picture, it also won Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur, with the latter definitely being well-deserved. But, I think all of the acting deserves to be highlighted. For example, Eugenio Derbez as Ruby's singing teacher, Bernardo "Mr. V" Villalobos, definitely deserves some love. Ruby is the heart of this film, but I feel like “Mr. V” is the soul. Without him, Ruby would never have the motivation to pursue her dreams of being a singer (I'll talk more about him soon).

Or, what about Ruby's love interest, Miles, played by Ferdia Walsh-Peelo? Yes, he plays the typical shy teenager who has a crush on the lead, but he plays it so earnestly that you kind of forget that it's a cliché.

Of course, you have Ruby herself, played by Emilia Jones. She is utterly exceptional as somebody who can sing, perform American Sign Language, and act her heart out. Honestly, I know the film (when it gets remembered) is known for being great, but I think the acting itself gets forgotten, and it shouldn't.

As A Teacher Myself, I Also Appreciate The Crucial Role That A Supportive Educator Can Play

Do you know what movie I love - well, besides CODA, of course? The Holdovers, and it's mostly because it's such a great portrayal of a teacher. As an educator myself, it's often hard to find movies that even come close to accurately portraying teachers, but I think CODA does an excellent job of showing what a difference a caring teacher can make.

Mr. V tries to understand where Ruby is coming from, but he also knows that he has to push her to fight for her dreams, since he believes she is holding herself back. He’s willing to allow her to come to his house after school and on weekends to practice, and gets frustrated since he feels like he's putting in more effort than she is.

In fact, in one scene, he yells at her as he sweeps his arm to his living room where there are baby toys scattered all about, and he tells her that he has an entire life outside of her, and that she doesn't value his time. This moment really hit me hard, since I feel like a lot of students don't realize that teachers actually DO have lives outside of them, and that we often give ourselves to students because we truly do see something in them.

I love that this movie has this side to it, as it adds an extra element of sacrifice, which is a major theme of this story. In short, this is a movie that is a lot of things, but what I love most about it is that it’s a feel-good story, and I don’t think we get nearly enough of those these days. Do you?