CODA takes home the Oscar for Best Picture. It beats out contenders Belfast, The Power of the Dog, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza and West Side Story. The award was presented by Liza Minelli and Lady Gaga.
CODA stands for Child of Deaf Adults, and that child is the protagonist of the film. Ruby (Emilia Jones) is the only one in her family who isn’t deaf, and because of that, she becomes her family’s means of communication with the rest of the community. At the same time, she is othered in school by association, due to her family’s difference. All her life, Ruby believed her path was laid out for her: her family is her life and work on the fishing boat was all she could envision for her future. But choir changes everything.
The cast, comprising of Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant, Eugenio Derbez, does amazing work – everyone pulls their weight and they sell the emotional richness of the story with such ease. The film also handles the issues the deaf community face on a daily basis, with a certain deftness and complexity.
Chatter of a possible win began when CODA won the SAG award for Best Ensemble, which is said to be quite the predictor when it comes to Best Picture Oscar winners. Spotlight took home the award and then the Oscar, and the same goes for Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite. With its Oscar win, CODA proves that there is some credence to these past patterns.
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