When American Masters approached Marlee Matlin about doing a documentary, Matlin had one name in mind to direct: Shoshannah Stern.
Like Matlin, Stern is deaf. She also hadn’t directed before. But Matlin, who herself became the first deaf person in the Directors Guild of America just a few years ago, was certain she was up to the task.
The resulting film, “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore” is an intimate look at her life: Growing up in a hearing family; winning the best actress Oscar at 21 for her first movie role in “Children of a Lesser God,” which film critic Rex Reed at the time called a “pity vote”; what she’s described as an abusive romantic relationship with her co-star, the late William Hurt, which he denied; getting sober; and her experiences in an industry not equipped to accommodate deaf actors.
It’s also an evocative portal into the world of the deaf community that uses groundbreaking techniques and sound design to put American Sign Language (ASL) and visual communication first. The film opens in select theaters Friday.
While Matlin told much of her story in the memoir “I’ll Scream Later,” on some level it wasn’t a completely satisfactory experience. Before the #MeToo movement, its revelations were not treated entirely seriously in the media. But a documentary also provided an opportunity.
“We communicate visually,” she said.
Matlin and Stern spoke though translators about the “CODA” effect, making the doc on their terms, and why they hope Reed sees this film. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: Shoshanna, what was your approach?
STERN: I had never seen a deaf person direct an episode of TV or film. Never. I thought, what does that even look like? I didn’t realize until I took the job that really the whole form of documentary as we know it is really rooted in sound, in the assumption that people will be speaking and they can speak. I thought, what are we going to do when we’re using American Sign Language? I have to reframe a whole form of documentary. We have to be able to see what a visually-based documentary is going to look like.
We wouldn’t do justice to Marlee’s life if I had forced this form that really wasn’t rooted in the way that she experienced this life. And that was exciting to do. Scary for some people out there, but I never felt scared in making this documentary because she believed in me.
MATLIN: If I had had a hearing director approach me to do this project, we could have done a very good job, but that person would not have seen me in the same way. They would not have the same lens as a deaf person.
Q: What were some techniques you used to spotlight the deaf experience?
STERN: I did want to film with captions in mind, so I made sure that we did have a wider frame. We figured out visual voiceover with a split screen that we added. We did this little surgery with words and syllables in one of the scenes where we mixed them all around to be able to bring people into how Marlee experiences conversations and the world. We wanted to make this documentary an immersive experience for the audience members, a sensory experience to help them understand.
Q: “CODA” felt like a big moment, but in the years since it won the Oscar, have you seen things change?
MATLIN: “CODA” certainly was a milestone and respected by so many people in the industry. It tackled a lot of things that both deaf and hearing people or audiences can identify with. I love the fact that they burnt in the captions. That you can’t just turn it off.
And I hoped that all the love we received and the three Academy Awards that we got would make a difference. It was honored on so many other levels too as well, whether we’re talking about (director) Sian (Heder) or you’re talking about Troy (Kotsur) or the SAG award which was just a dream come true, specifically of mine. I took that opportunity to specifically address that that we “exist,” that we want to be actors just like you, we want to be directors, we want be producers, we want to be hair and wardrobe stylists. We want to work in all levels of production. So “CODA” really elevated that conversation about how much we wanted to be part of the industry. But for some reason it didn’t really break open the door as wide as I would have thought. Yet we just don’t give up. We are persistent. Because it is what it is. We are working on our own levels to make changes.
STERN: Marlee said something really brave when we were at Sundance. She said, “It won’t last.” The moment, yes, in the moment. But I don’t know if we have movement.
MATLIN: There’s so many stories that we can tell, so many stories that you can put up on screen, so many stories that we can put on stage.
I’d like to see action because I’ve been hearing that, “Yes, we have to do this” or “I will do this,” but it’s been 40 years. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining. I just want to make sure that we put our money where our mouth is.
I go back to that comment about Rex Reed. I wonder if he would ever see this film. I’d love to see if he has the balls to make a comment and say, “Oh look, I realize I might have said something wrong.”
That’s just one example of the things I’d like to see happen. And maybe the people who interviewed me over the years. I don’t want you to misunderstand me, I have a great deal of respect for them. But specifically, I am calling out Rex Reed. So, you know, sorry but not sorry.
(Reed did not immediately return a request for comment.)
