Coda (2019)

(On Cable TV, November 2022) This is not the 2021 Oscar-winning CODA about a Child Of Deaf Adults—this is the small under-seen 2019 Coda about a renowned elderly pianist getting his mojo back after meeting a young woman. No, not like that—although there’s subtext there that could have become text without too much effort. Still, the main selling point of this Coda is that it’s anchored by none other than Patrick Stewart, exceptionally well cast as an older pianist cast adrift by the death of his wife. By the time the film begins, it’s been years since he has performed in public (a consequence of his wife’s death) and getting back on stage leads to bouts of severe stage fright. Fortunately, there’s a younger woman (Katie Holmes, at least in her forties) to get him back on the saddle—plus a trip to Sils Maria for some mountain air and landscapes. It’s not much of a film in terms of plot or suspense, but Holmes has a good role, and we have another film role for Stewart—a serious actor whose theatrical performance remains legendary, but who has not been captured enough for posterity in movie roles. Otherwise, well, director Claude Lalonde (better known as the writer of a few much-broader French-Canadian films) keeps things going at a nice simmer. Coda is more contemplative than intriguing, but it achieves most of its goals.