Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, and Daniel Durant in ‘CODA’. apple.com/
Why ‘CODA’ has been dubbed this year’s ‘Oscar villain’
After winning big at major award shows, Apple TV’s ‘CODA’ has emerged as a contender to take home ‘Best Picture’ at the 2022 Oscars.
Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, and Daniel Durant in ‘CODA’. apple.com/
While Netflix aims to become the first streaming platform to win the Oscar for Best Picture thanks to The Power of the Dog, viewers believe that another film from Apple TV+ will actually walk away with the statue.
In a new feature article, Marlow Stern and Kevin Fallon from The Daily Beast detailed the controversy that has been playing out on Twitter over the past couple of weeks.
Will CODA win Best Picture at the 2022 Oscars?
Kevin says that in recent weeks, the musical drama, CODA, has swept what is considered major Best Picture bellwethers, including the Screen Actors Guild Awards Best Ensemble prize and the 2022 Producers Guild Award trophy.
CODA tells the story of Ruby, who is the only hearing member of a deaf family from Gloucester, Massachusetts. At 17, she works mornings before school to help her parents and brother keep their fishing business afloat. But in joining her high school’s choir club, Ruby finds herself drawn to both her duet partner and her latent passion for singing.
While the story has been branded a “real tearjerker”, “Oscar purists” hope that it does not take the Oscars’ biggest prize. It has since become known as this year’s Oscar “villain” due to it being a “feel-good movie” with some saying it might as well have been “a Disney Channel original film”.
Worth the hype?
According to Mashable, the film is worth the hype.
“CODA, which stands for “Child of Deaf Adults” and was written and directed by Siân Heder, is a great movie and a much-needed step forward for deaf representation in Hollywood,” writes Belen Edwards.
CODA‘s deaf characters are played by Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, and Daniel Durant, who are themselves deaf. This is unfortunately not always the case in film and TV, with hearing actors taking roles that could have gone to members of the deaf community.
Compelling portrayals of a family
It is adapted from the 2014 French film, La Famille Bélier. Edwards says that the film is grounded, while its success is centred around its portrait of a family.
“Whether CODA wins Best Picture or not, it has cemented itself as one of the most nuanced and compelling portrayals of a family from the past year,” Edwards explains further. “It sticks with you long after you’ve seen it, especially its climactic (and tearjerking) performances of You’re All I Need To Get By and Both Sides Now.”
However, it has some stiff competition. Other nominees for Best Picture, include: Belfast, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog, and West Side Story.
