Zu is a free spirit estranged from her family who suddenly finds herself the sole guardian of her half-sister, Music (Maddie Ziegler), a teenager on the autism spectrum whose whole world order has been beautifully crafted by her late grandmother.
Music has the distinction of being a horrendous film to critically review despite a well-executed production (from a visual standpoint, at least). A film of two halves, Music haphazardly switches between vibrant, aesthetically artistic music videos and a woefully underdeveloped, by-the-numbers, drama. While the two perspectives conflict with each other, the real consternation around the film comes from the role of Maddie Ziegler and her ability to do the role. Because she is able.
By this, I mean Ziegler is an able-bodied person portraying the role of a person with reasonably severe non-verbal autism. The debate rages on as to whether cis-gendered actors can act queer roles, or whether white actors can play minority roles, but the topic of disabilities is not often talked about.
Much like walking that fence between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, the defining traits that determine which side you fall on are the intent and the execution. If the portrayal intends to mock or denigrate the disability, then it will receive the opposite of praise. If the portrayal is well-meaning and educational but poorly executed, then it still will be criticized. No matter how many years of "research" are claimed to have been put into it, poor execution of the narrative or misinformation will lead to a backlash.
And that is exactly where this film lies; in the poorly executed zone. Let it be known, that laying on someone during an autistic episode to physically restrain them, is widely frowned upon and to only be used as a last resort, due to the high risk of death through asphyxia or simply adding trauma to their disability. This form of physical restraint is shown twice in the Music.
Apart from encouraging potentially deadly restraint practices, Music struggles with defining its intent. At a glance, the film appears to be a wholesome story about how a community comes together to help each other no matter the disability. However, as the film progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that creating a cohesive and engaging narrative about living with autism is the secondary focus; coming in second place (or is it last?) to a barrage of music videos for Sia's upcoming album (also named Music).
To specifically choose autism as the vessel to sell an album is in extremely poor taste, and is made all the confounding when you take into consideration how exclusionary the film is to much of the autistic community; the music videos themselves are so extreme in their visual stimuli that it would be overwhelming to those that are so sensitive to external stimuli.
Looking past the controversies in casting and disability, the story being told is thin and lacks real development. A combination of moments with little narrative string holding it together, the characters are thinly veiled caricatures that hold no purpose but to inject conflict into the story to emotionally manipulate the audience into caring...at least until the next music video begins.
Death, HIV, drug dealing, alcoholism and addiction, domestic abuse, Big Pharma...these are only a selection of the topics that are introduced in this short 108-minute-long film to generate conflict, most of which is disregarded after a single scene without resolution. Too much to cover in-depth for such a limited runtime, and leads to a complete lack of consequences and a lack of stakes, resulting in no characters that the audience can empathise with and relate to.
Outside of the opening scenes that set up this loving community and Music's daily routine, the plot of the film has no satisfaction to be had. Kate Hudson puts on a curious performance outside of her usual romantic drama roles, Beto Calvillo is largely unexplained yet delightful, but the actual story being told is more of an afterthought. Everything is present to service the "music videos".
In this regard, Music stands out. Utilising the unique freestyling dance form that Maddie Ziegler has been performing in Sia's music videos since 2014 when she was 11 years of age (Ziegler was 14 during the filming of Music), Sia executes the musical portion of the film expertly.
The cinematography from Sebastian Winterø combined with the choreography of Ryan Heffington create gorgeously vibrant and visually engaging set designs and dance routines that are simultaneously chaotic and synchronised, with hues that mirror the emotional depth of the lyrics, and provide a perverse mix of perspectives that are impossible to fully appreciate in one sitting. It is clear where the majority of the resources for this film have been put, with the budget being quadrupled after the script was adapted into a musical.
Music has two starkly contrasting elements that simply do not marry up. Haphazardly bludgeoned together. As has always been the case with Sia's music videos, the performances are mesmerizing, but outside of the musical environment, Music is lacking in depth and empathy.
Will people want to pay money to watch a 108-minute-long advert for Sia's upcoming studio album? Warner Music is certainly hoping so. And while ample resources have been put into the production, not enough was put into the script.
Fans of Sia and Ziegler will love this film regardless of its content. The young, non-male, teen demographic is the target audience here. Just keep in mind, that while it is much glossier, this is no less of a cash grab than The Emoji Movie.
Music is in cinemas from January 28, 2021