Directed by Darius Marder
Story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance
Screenplay by Darius Marder & Abraham Marder
Stars: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci, Lauren Ridloff, Chelsea Lee, Shaheem Sanchez, and Mathieu Amalric
Bloggers Note: When I was on my movie watching sabbatical-- that lasted nine years-- I missed a lot of movies that were nominated or won for Best Picture. I counted how many movies I didn't watch from 2011 to 2020. The total is 51. That's a lot. So, I have decided to watch at most five Best Picture nominees a week until the end of the year.
There have been nothing but good things said about this movie, including Riz Ahmed's performance. I just want to see him shirtless. Is that a bad thing? I don't think so.
Ruben Stone (Ahmed) is a drummer in an indie heavy metal band, Blackgammon. During a stop in Missouri, Ruben's hearing dims. The lead singer and his girlfriend, Lou (Cooke) calls up a place that can Ruben adjust to his life as a deaf person.
The emotional anchor of the movie is Ahmed's performance. The audience is experiencing what Ruben is experiencing through his ears. This is how the Oscar winning sound comes into play. It was a seamless translation from the loud bass of the metal to the absolute silence of being deaf. It was nothing I have ever experienced before. There were some semblance of that in CODA.
Paul Raci as Joe, the leader of a deaf community was very good. Subtle and nuanced.
The things that set this movie back is the pacing in the deaf community part. Also, the script makes some leaps that made me pause. A couple of moments towards the end didn't make sense logically.
Rating: 9/10
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