This year the Oscar for best film went to the drama Coda – ‘Child of Deaf Adults’ – but the ceremony will now probably only be remembered for Wsscrfmhw (‘Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock For Mocking His Wife’). And we thought that mix-up over envelopes was exciting! But back to the film, which beat the favourite, The Power of the Dog, although Jane Campion did win best director, making her the third woman ever to do so. That’s three women in 93 years of the awards. If we carry on at that rate, by the turn of the next century it may even be five.
Coda is only viewable on Apple TV+, the first streaming service to scoop the big prize. If you wish to watch, you’ll have to subscribe or sign up for one of those seven-day free trials that you forget about and then pay monthly for the rest of your life. Or you could piggyback on a friend’s subscription and then dump them afterwards. (I did that when I wanted to watch Mare of Easttown on Sky. It worked out fine. Watch, dump, move on.) But, in this instance, is it worth a friendship dashed? Or £4.99 a month into perpetuity? That’s what we need to work out. But for those in a rush: Coda is a Mort (‘Middle Of Road Tearjerker’) and if that’s what you like, you will like this.
Coda is a Mort. If you like a Middle of the Road Tearjerker, then you will like this
The main character is Ruby Rossi, played by Emilia Jones, the 20-year-old daughter of Aled Jones. (He has a 20-year-old daughter? God, we are all so old!) She is hearing but her parents, Jackie and Frank – played by Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur, who are both deaf actors – are deaf, as is her brother (Daniel Durant, also deaf).
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