Oscars 2022: Every Best Picture Nominee Ranked
5. CODA
Winning the Grand Jury Prize when it debuted at Sundance, CODA is the kind of rare and insightful character drama that comes around only once in a blue moon, giving audiences a thoughtful, examined look into lives rarely portrayed on the big screen.
Starring a devastatingly good Emilia Jones as the only hearing member of her eccentric family, the drama tackles the hardships and beauty of being deaf with both inspirational heart and touching humour.
Much like 2020's Sound of Metal, CODA (which stands for Child of Deaf Adults) is heartbreaking and profound in its analysis of what it means to live in silence. It sucks you in with its charming performances and memorable characters, and leaves you thinking of lives far removed from your own.
Yes, it has its clichés - the romance running through it briefly shifts focus from the more compelling family drama - but these issues do nothing to cheapen CODA's otherwise haunting ode to family and growing up.