Review: 'CODA' is a big-hearted comedy-drama about a teen daughter of deaf parents finding her voice.

Family is a stronger force than music or deafness in “CODA,” a charming comedy-drama about a teen girl caught in a classic tug-of-war between familial obligation and chasing her dreams.

Emilia Jones gives a star-making performance as Ruby Rossi, the only hearing member of a fishing family in Gloucester, Mass. Both her parents, Frank (Troy Kotsur) and Jackie (Marlee Matlin), and her older brother, Leo (Daniel Durant) are deaf. (The title is an acronym for “child of deaf adults.”) Ruby works on the family’s fishing boat — and, being the only one who can hear, draws the duty of working the radio and negotiating with the fish wholesalers on the dock.

Ruby has a passion, one that she can’t really share with her family: Music. When it comes time to pick a school activity, she sees that a cute boy, Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, from “Sing Street”), signs up for choir, and she does the same. She discovers that she’s actually a good singer — so much so that her choir teacher, Mr. V (Eugenio Derbez), suggests she audition for the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Mom takes Ruby’s love of singing personally. “If I was blind, you would like to paint.” Surely, Ruby loves her family, but the relationship is a complex one — she’s heard her classmates mock her family, and has felt the pressure of being the family’s in-house interpreter. 

Writer-director Siân Heder (who has written for “Orange Is the New Black,” and whose directing debut “Tallulah” premiered at Sundance in 2016) remakes a 2014 French comedy, “La Family Bélier,” into a warmly funny and quite touching story. The comedy sometimes skirts the raunchy edge of the PG-13 rating — Frank and Jackie have a boisterous sex life, and Frank’s command of dirty sign language is impressive — and the tender moments are undercut with the right amount of humor. Two of the best moments occur when Ruby is onstage singing, and only a stony heart wouldn’t sniff back a tear or two.

In a strong cast — Kotsur and Durant are delightful, and Matlin hasn’t had a chance to be this good since she won her Oscar for “Children of a Lesser God” 35 years ago — it’s 18-year-old Emilia Jones who is hands down the star here. She captures Ruby’s love for music and for her family, even when the burden of being its only hearing member grows wearying. “CODA” is sure to go down as the first of many triumphs for this talented young actress.

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‘CODA’

★★★1/2

Streaming starting Friday, August 13, on AppleTV+; opening August 20 at Megaplex Jordan Commons (Sandy). Rated PG-13 for strong sexual content and language, and drug use. Running time: 114 minutes.