CODA (2021)

You can map the plot of CODA on a napkin: shy kid with a gift, demanding music teacher, big audition, family that has to learn to let go. The romance with Miles is sweet and paper thin, and Mr. V’s tough-love routine comes straight out of the inspirational-teacher handbook. Then the movie gets you anyway. Emilia Jones carries the weight of Ruby’s double life, interpreting for her family at the dock and at the doctor’s office while trying to find her own voice. Troy Kotsur is the soul of it as Frank, blunt, funny and fiercely loving. Marlee Matlin and Daniel Durant make the Rossis feel like a real family, close, stubborn and hilarious together. The best scene is at the school concert, when the sound drops away and you see the room the way her family does. It made $1.9 million worldwide on a reported $10M. An 8.1 because the formula is familiar and the family is unforgettable. $64.94 says you’ve learned to fingerspell your own name in ASL by the end of the night.

What works: Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin and Daniel Durant make the Rossis a vivid, funny, deeply loving family, and the concert scene’s sudden silence is unforgettable.

What doesn’t: The story follows the inspirational-music-movie template beat for beat, and the romance with Miles never gets past cute.

Who it’s for: Anyone who loves a big-hearted family drama and doesn’t mind crying in front of other people.