Singing and Signing: How Siân Heder’s ‘CODA’ Makes Music Come Alive for a Deaf Community
Roy Trakin Writer-director Siân Heder makes it very clear she knew the double meaning of “CODA,” the title of her new Apple TV Plus film, an acronym for Child of Deaf Adults. It’s used to describe the movie’s star, Emilia Jones, who plays would-be singer Ruby, a character eking out a living with her father Frank (Troy Kotsur), mother Jackie (Marlee Matlin) and brother Leo (Daniel Durant) — all deaf actors — aboard a fishing boat in scenic Gloucester, Mass.“When I learned about the use of the term within the deaf community, in the context of music, it resonated for a coming-of-age story,” explains Heder, whose previous film was the gritty 2016 Sundance hit, “Tallulah,” with Allison Janney and Elliot Page.