A TREAT FOR THE SENSES

Coda plays out like a familiar piece of music, with welcome predictability

CODA ★★★ out of 5

Cast: Patrick Stewart,

Katie Holmes

Director: Claude Lalonde

Duration: 1 h 36 m

Available: In select theatres

Lovers of classical music listen to their old favourites for many reasons, but seldom to be surprised. So it is with Coda, a movie about an aging musician rescued from stage fright by the gentle touch of a younger woman.

It's lovely to watch and to listen to, but a big part of its charm is that there's no big twist at the end.

Patrick Stewart stars as Henry Cole, a famous classical pianist who shut himself away after the death of his wife, and is just now making tentative steps back into the limelight, prodded by his well-meaning agent Paul, played by Giancarlo Esposito.

Henry is often beset by well-wishers, fans and journalists, so when Helen Morrison (Katie Holmes) of The New Yorker approaches wanting to write an article, he gently rebuffs her.

Still she persists, and eventually becomes more than just a chronicler of his late career; she helps soothe his nerves, and their conversations about life and art bring him some peace. It doesn't hurt that she was once an aspiring pianist herself, and that he inadvertently helped her through a rough patch in that curtailed career.

Narrative-simple, Coda is nonetheless a treat for the senses.

Helen convinces Henry to take a trip to Sils Maria, an idyllic, mountainous region of Switzerland that Quebec director Claude Lalonde frames beautifully. And Ukrainian-canadian pianist Serhiy Salov doubles at the keys for Stewart, who may be many things but is not a trained pianist. His performances of works by Beethoven, Bach, Rachmaninoff, Chopin and more are flawless, except when the screenplay requires that Henry stumble.

Finally, a quick word on the title. CODA is also the name

(and acronym) of the film about a child of deaf adults that won three Oscars this year including best picture. But Coda (also a term for a passage that brings a piece of music to its conclusion) was shot first, and even saw limited release before the pandemic. Film titles, like musical compositions, sometimes echo one another, and not always intentionally.

PHOTOS: 1976 PRODUCTIONS Actor Patrick Stewart stars in Coda, a story that offers a lovely respite from the tyranny of the “twist” ending.

Patrick Stewart, left, and Katie Holmes play an aging concert pianist and a journalist, respectively, who build a friendship that enriches both of their lives in Coda, a film that keeps it simple but charming.