Do you want to know why many people dislike classical music? Watch this movie and you will find out. Ask anyone who dislikes classical music, and they will inevitably tell you at least one of the following two words - "boring" and "snobbery."
'Coda' somehow manages to embody both.
First, although the scenes where Patrick Stewart's character plays the piano are somewhat well done and he looks convincing enough, the makers of this movie have decided to concentrate almost entirely on technically difficult, fast pieces. The result - unless you're already deeply familiar with German composers' piano sonatas, you will not remember a single piece. You'll only hear some piano shredding - which does sound impressive for a minute or two, but ultimately it's completely devoid of feeling, soul, and even melody. And the problem is not with the pieces that were chosen. They sound wonderful in their own context, but here it's like trying to represent a metal band by only showing the guitar solos in the band's fastest songs. It just doesn't work like this. It's repetitive and, as a consequence, simply boring. The fact that all concert scenes are way too similar doesn't help - they're blocked and shot the same way, which is, indeed, a problem - it's like watching the same scene again and again, and again and again. So yes, it is simply boring - but the classical pieces are not to blame. The movie is.
Second, there is the snobbery. Oh, you can't simply enjoy classical music, this movie tells us. You have to constantly wax poetic about how wonderful, philosophical and all-in-all superior that makes you. Again, it doesn't work like this. If the filmmakers had tried to convey the same message through music, maybe it would work, but the decided to have every character just say everything felt or thought. You know, tell-don't-show to the max. This is extremely off-putting - and yes, there are classical music aficionados who are exactly like that, but they are not what represents people who actually love the music.
Add to that the pseudo-philosophical blabbering, where, of course, one of the main characters keeps quoting Nietzsche, because, apparently, western filmmakers can't think of any other philosopher...
And then there are the problems with the story that is being told. Which is the oh-so-original story of a young woman falling head over heels in love with a man who is old enough to be her grandfather. How many of these should we see, really? Plus, although both leading performances are competent, they leave a lot to be desired. Patrick Stewart is convincing in his role - which shouldn't be surprising, as he is playing every single one of his characters over the last two decades the same way. Yes, this is Picard. This is Professor X. This is the same character. He can sleepwalk through roles like this and make them look competent, because this is all he plays. The old bald wise mentor type of a character with his old authoritative voice... It's not a bad performance by any means, but I've seen more variety from Jean Claude Van Damme. Literally. As for Katie Holmes - again, not a bad performance... until you see her trying to play the piano. At least Stewart knows where to put his hands and how to move his shoulders. Holmes, though, simply doesn't. When her character is supposed to be playing, she doesn't move at all. Well...
All in all, there are two reasons to see this movie - one is Giancarlo Esposito's character. Seeing him play against type is, at the very least, interesting. The other reason to see this is the good cinematography - which is kinda excellent, and the scenery is really wonderful. If for some reason you expect a profound, life-changing movie... You'll have not find it here. 'Coda' is about as profound as 'The Transformers', but with less action and more pretentiousness. Sorry.
And then there are the problems with the story that is being told. Which is the oh-so-original story of a young woman falling head over heels in love with a man who is old enough to be her grandfather. How many of these should we see, really? Plus, although both leading performances are competent, they leave a lot to be desired. Patrick Stewart is convincing in his role - which shouldn't be surprising, as he is playing every single one of his characters over the last two decades the same way. Yes, this is Picard. This is Professor X. This is the same character. He can sleepwalk through roles like this and make them look competent, because this is all he plays. The old bald wise mentor type of a character with his old authoritative voice... It's not a bad performance by any means, but I've seen more variety from Jean Claude Van Damme. Literally. As for Katie Holmes - again, not a bad performance... until you see her trying to play the piano. At least Stewart knows where to put his hands and how to move his shoulders. Holmes, though, simply doesn't. When her character is supposed to be playing, she doesn't move at all. Well...
All in all, there are two reasons to see this movie - one is Giancarlo Esposito's character. Seeing him play against type is, at the very least, interesting. The other reason to see this is the good cinematography - which is kinda excellent, and the scenery is really wonderful. If for some reason you expect a profound, life-changing movie... You'll have not find it here. 'Coda' is about as profound as 'The Transformers', but with less action and more pretentiousness. Sorry.