CODA's plot aligns to a T with a "conventional" approach to mainstream commercial screenplay…
Opening: We see her talent as a singer.
CODA's plot aligns to a T with a "conventional" approach to mainstream commercial screenplay structure.
Opening: We see her talent as a singer.
Act One midpoint: In racing out of the first choir rehearsal, that reflects a Refusal of the Call.
Act One end: Three things locked down: (1) She's now actively in the choir. (2) The duo with Miles. (3) Bernardo encourages Ruby to apply to Berklee and will tutor her for her tryout. All three of these put her on a path toward a Big Confrontation with her family about her involvement in the fishing business (the central conflict of the story: her dream vs. their needs).
Act Two A tracks some parallel storylines including the emergence of the new family business model and Ruby's growth as a singer. Also, her budding relationship with Miles.
Transition (48-54): Ruby lays out her desire to be a singer and go to music school. She has to truly commit to working with Bernardo or else he will refuse to help her. This is a tipping point for Ruby as she moves away from what we may call the Parent Path (J. Campbell calls it the path of the "should") to what the Hero Path, what Ruby's need is - to make her OWN way in the world. That sets up the narrative tension about how these two paths will resolve, especially with the pressure of the family's new business plan which only heightens the importance of Ruby's involvement in it.
Act Two B leads to a crisis point where Ruby is ready to deny her own desires to continue working in the family business (All Is Lost - she misses the Berklee audition), but Leo (in a Mentor moment) insists she follow her dreams.
Act Three is all about the Big Performance where Ruby's parents finally see and "hear" what singing means to Ruby, how it can impact people, etc. That moment with her father, where he feels the vibrations in her throat as she sings - terrific storytelling.
The audition. She gets accepted to Berklee. Leaves the family and signs, "I love you" as she drives away.
The story structure is one reason why the movie reminds me of an 80s movie. It really is a conventional story of an adolescent embracing her need and following her dreams. But there is the unique hook of the Protagonist living with a deaf family, the specificity of the fishing business and the local community, and the characters, all of whom are unique and entertaining that elevate the story into something special.
As always, great characters transform even the most conventional story into a winning movie. That's next in our discussion: characters.