Coda (2021)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
A hearing teenager in a family of deaf fishermen must navigate her personal ambitions while supporting her family's struggling business.
The story
In Gloucester, Massachusetts, 17-year-old Ruby Rossi is the only hearing member of her family; her parents, Frank and Jackie, and older brother, Leo, are all deaf. Ruby assists with the family fishing business and plans to join it full-time after high school. One day at school, Ruby sees her crush, Miles Patterson, signing up for choir as his elective, so she also signs up. The music teacher, Mr. Bernardo "Mr. V" Villalobos, encourages Ruby to sing more and assigns her to a duet with Miles. Meanwhile, Frank and Leo struggle to make ends meet with the fishing business as new fees and sanctions are imposed by the local board.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In Gloucester, Massachusetts, 17-year-old Ruby Rossi is the only hearing member of her family; her parents, Frank and Jackie, and older brother, Leo, are all deaf. Ruby assists with the family fishing business and plans to join it full-time after high school. When she joins a choir, her teacher, Mr. V, encourages her to pursue music. Meanwhile, the family faces financial hardships due to new fishing regulations. Frank decides to start his own company, relying on Ruby to interpret and spread the word. As Ruby's training for a music scholarship intensifies, she struggles to balance her time between her education and her family's needs. After a legal mishap leads to the suspension of their fishing licenses, Ruby initially decides to drop out of school to help the business, but her brother Leo insists she pursue her talent. During a performance, the family supports her, and she eventually finds a balance. The film concludes with Ruby being accepted into the Berklee College of Music, while her family's business finds success with the help of hearing employees who have learned sign language.
- First release year
- 2021
- Runtime (minutes)
- 111
- Production countries
- France; United States
- Original languages
- American Sign Language; English
- Directors
- Sian Heder
- Writers
- Sian Heder · writer
- Cast and characters
- Emilia Jones · Ruby Rossi; Eugenio Derbez · Bernardo "Mr. V" Villalobos; Troy Kotsur · Frank Rossi; Ferdia Walsh-Peelo · Miles Patterson; Marlee Matlin · Jackie Rossi; Daniel Durant · Leo Rossi
- Genres
- comedy-drama; coming-of-age
- Themes
- family dynamics; disability; ambition vs. loyalty; communication
- Tone and mood
- heartwarming; sincere
- Setting
- Gloucester, Massachusetts
- Premise and plot tags
- coming-of-age; musical-prodigy; blue-collar; deaf culture
- Source material / true-story basis
- La Famille Bélier
- Reception
- The film received largely positive reviews from critics, who praised Heder's screenplay and Kotsur's performance, although feedback from deaf viewers was polarized.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 94% · scale: percentage · review count: 295; Metacritic · score: 72 · scale: 100 · review count: 46
- Awards and nominations
- Best Adapted Screenplay · Writers Guild of America Award · win
- Production trivia
- The film was the first produced or distributed by a streaming service to win Best Picture.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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