CODA

"An emotional knockout."

"A radiant, deeply satisfying heartwarmer..."

"It may look recognizable, but Heder and her formidable cast and compelling emotion make sure it doesn't sound like anything else out there."

"A mostly likable concoction, but one that's just too formulaic and ultimately rather calculated to secure the emotional response it so desperately wants by the big finale."

"Heder infuses such deep emotion in the movie, it makes up for its lack of narrative originality."

"This is Jones' film and she gives one of those young performances that feel like a pronouncement of someone who will be around for years."

"Writer/director Sian Heder, with her exceptional cast, remains in full control of the tone even as the story follows every predictable beat."

"This improbably charismatic 18-year-old drags you over the bumps with a nuanced turn that veers from vulnerable to defeated to furiously determined."

"Too much of the film feels more informed by other movies than any real experience."

"When CODA hits the right notes in that balancing act, it's euphoric."

"A handful of sitcom-ish moments seem like small glitches in a script that works so winningly to bring the often unseen (or just terminally underexplored) world of deafness to such joyful, ordinary life."

"It's likeable but very familiar."

"The film is at its most moving in those rare moments when it's capturing the nourishing bonding ritual among a deaf family."

"Sweet, thoughtful, and unusual in its extensive use of sign language and its casting of deaf actors (including Oscar winner Marlee Matlin), it's the kind of film you can't help but love."