438 reviews
1 out of 5 stars.
Horrible film. Plot is bad. Acting is stale. Sia direction with an autistic person behavior is very misguided. Horrible film in general.
Horrible film. Plot is bad. Acting is stale. Sia direction with an autistic person behavior is very misguided. Horrible film in general.
Even if you try to look past how tone-deaf the film is, the plot is still mind-numbingly painful to watch. Sia's 'Music' is dressed as a telling of an autistic story but the autistic character is only a subordinate character, lacks depth, and only exists to ignite some sort of character development for the main character. It is offensive as it plays into harmful stereotypes towards people on the autism spectrum, uninteresting, and poorly put together. While the songs are well-written and catchy, their insertion into the dragging narrative only stretches it further. Everyone involved should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
- Sir_AmirSyarif
- May 20, 2021
- Permalink
Overused, hyper-stylised pop numbers aren't enough to mask the catastrophic misjudgements that Sia has exercised here. It is one of those movies where you know Sia had the best intentions in mind, but those intentions are nowhere to be found in such a baffling mess of a movie. How nobody involved in this doomed fiasco simply said No! At any - or every - stage is baffling. Fortunately, you can.
- tim-stjames
- Jun 12, 2022
- Permalink
Bad acting, bad characters, offensive story, misinformation on all ends. Hudson should know better. MZ doesn't know better. Sia, at a loss for words here. Curiosity made me watch, and watching made me sorry I was curious.
I am virtually unaware of the controversy surrounding this film so I'm not going to be harsh on it for the sake of it.
First this movie is boring and confused. It labels its self as a film about an autistic girl yet it seems to be more about her older sister. It is a film about the sisters romance and her job. The autistic character is just sort of in the background which really confused me.
The acting. It ranges from ok to an absolute disaster. I don't think this film had people with autism as consultants which they should have. When making a movie about a subject that is not something that you know of first had you should surround your self with people who do have first hand experience with the topic. This way you can create a honest, respectful movie. They should have cast autistic people, even if they are not the lead it would have been nice for a film like this to be more inclusive. I think one of the biggest issues is that they cast someone who isn't really an actor and isn't really that good.
The script was simultaneously boring yet a cluster of every idea and the kitchen sink. It had a heart under it all but it was just like jokey and not serious until the end and it was too late then.
The musical numbers are one of the biggest disasters of this films. It was wrote as a movie not a musical. Then they offered $10,000,000 to make it a musical and it is painful obvious. The music is literally just dumped on top of random scene. They must have looked at the script and been like "sod it just shove one there". Then the actual numbers were the cheapest things ever. Where did the money go? The costumes were so cheaply made and just bad. They looked like costumes from a school play. It was crazy to me.
I don't love it when people all jump on a movie just for the sake of it but this was really bad. Really really bad. The music was ok that's it.
First this movie is boring and confused. It labels its self as a film about an autistic girl yet it seems to be more about her older sister. It is a film about the sisters romance and her job. The autistic character is just sort of in the background which really confused me.
The acting. It ranges from ok to an absolute disaster. I don't think this film had people with autism as consultants which they should have. When making a movie about a subject that is not something that you know of first had you should surround your self with people who do have first hand experience with the topic. This way you can create a honest, respectful movie. They should have cast autistic people, even if they are not the lead it would have been nice for a film like this to be more inclusive. I think one of the biggest issues is that they cast someone who isn't really an actor and isn't really that good.
The script was simultaneously boring yet a cluster of every idea and the kitchen sink. It had a heart under it all but it was just like jokey and not serious until the end and it was too late then.
The musical numbers are one of the biggest disasters of this films. It was wrote as a movie not a musical. Then they offered $10,000,000 to make it a musical and it is painful obvious. The music is literally just dumped on top of random scene. They must have looked at the script and been like "sod it just shove one there". Then the actual numbers were the cheapest things ever. Where did the money go? The costumes were so cheaply made and just bad. They looked like costumes from a school play. It was crazy to me.
I don't love it when people all jump on a movie just for the sake of it but this was really bad. Really really bad. The music was ok that's it.
As an autistic woman, all I can say is that yhis movie by no means represents us as a community. The portrayal of autism is so inaccurate and insulting and I'm genuinely scared that people will think this is realistic. This is mocking us and not only that but the restraint scene makes me sick! So many autistic children have died from being restrained like that. This is not ok and never should have been made especially not with a neurotypical actress
- chocolatecoatedllama
- Feb 20, 2021
- Permalink
Truly the worst movie I have ever seen. Incredibly demeaning to autistics and literally every other group represented. Sia really said "how many people can I offend and misrepresent in one film?"
Even if we look past how tone-deaf and offensive the film is, the plot is just bad. She tried to include so many different stories and cover so many different issues that everything was just surface level. There was zero character development, the storyline was confusing, she offset incredibly serious moments with uncomfortable humor that just cheapened the entire thing. I can't imagine how this has already been nominated for two Golden Globes. It's quite honestly terrible.
Even if we look past how tone-deaf and offensive the film is, the plot is just bad. She tried to include so many different stories and cover so many different issues that everything was just surface level. There was zero character development, the storyline was confusing, she offset incredibly serious moments with uncomfortable humor that just cheapened the entire thing. I can't imagine how this has already been nominated for two Golden Globes. It's quite honestly terrible.
- erinmelaniie
- Feb 12, 2021
- Permalink
- BandSAboutMovies
- Aug 31, 2021
- Permalink
This movie is disgusting and ableist. Do not watch if you're sensitive to lights, sounds, and incorrect portrayal of people on the spectrum
- cronictaylor
- Feb 15, 2021
- Permalink
I was disappointed to find that Sia's directorial debut isn't the trainwreck everyone says it is. That's why I decided to check it out because of all the negative reviews. What exactly is everyone having a problem with? Apparently, the detractors all hate the lead performance and even invented terms like Autistic Blackface to describe it. They all treat this movie as if it were an affront to humanity because of this performance saying that it's degrading to autistic people. Well, I'm high functioning autistic and I expected to be offended but came away realizing the character Music is meant to be low functioning. She can't speak, only communicates in noises and wears headphones to filter out the noise of the world because she has sensitive hearing. Sure, this isn't my experience and it isn't the experience of a lot of autistic adults, and I think the filmmakers know this. This character is not meant to be a representation of every autistic person in the world. I get that and was okay with the movie.
Basically, what we get is a retread of the Tom Cruise/Dustin Hoffman classic Rain Man and while it isn't original, it does have some nice unique touches that make it interesting. I love the creative music video sequences that Music dreams up, her way of communicating with the world, her way of making sense of it. I also found this movie to have heart, and I totally believe that Sia did this as a labor of love and a tribute to a good friend of hers who has autism.
This isn't the worst film I've seen by a long shot and I think it just became popular to hate on this film as some misguided act of virtue signaling. The more egregious act has been all of these people getting offended by this film in my place.
Basically, what we get is a retread of the Tom Cruise/Dustin Hoffman classic Rain Man and while it isn't original, it does have some nice unique touches that make it interesting. I love the creative music video sequences that Music dreams up, her way of communicating with the world, her way of making sense of it. I also found this movie to have heart, and I totally believe that Sia did this as a labor of love and a tribute to a good friend of hers who has autism.
This isn't the worst film I've seen by a long shot and I think it just became popular to hate on this film as some misguided act of virtue signaling. The more egregious act has been all of these people getting offended by this film in my place.
- sundialpictures-01657
- Jan 6, 2022
- Permalink
I am autistic, and i know some people in the autistic community are not happy with this movie, but I LOVED it! I think the part that was difficult to watch were the scenes where they were trying to calm the main character who's name is Music, to calm her down by laying on her, which in real life would not go very well, but the loving intention of that action in this movie is not lost on me. Everyone is so kind to Music, and the characters are very sweet and loveable. The mini music videos peppered in are amazing and I love Sias singing in this movie.. I think more than anything that because it is a sweet movie, people are used to violence and cruelty and bad intentions, and because there wasn't that distraction, that sensory stimulation that people are used to these days, people have to complain. They complain about the music videos being too bright, but if they see a movie full of fight scenes and shock value, movies like that people see no problem with. I LOVE Sia and I thought this movie was perfection. Don't listen to others, most people are full of crap anyway. Watch it yourself and make up your own mind. I'm glad I got to see it!
- evancurrey
- Apr 23, 2023
- Permalink
I didn't dislike this movie, I actually rather liked it. It's a lighthearted musical/comedy meant to make you feel good and should be treated as such.
I enjoyed the storyline surrounding Zu, an alcoholic drug dealer trying to get her life together and ending up becoming responsible for her sister with multiple needs. Maddies depiction of a profoundly autistic girl wasn't great and I agree with many that the scenes on restraint are rather misguided. Although a talented dancer, I don't see her as a brilliant actress anyway- although she was only 14 years old during filming. I also agree that maybe a little more research could be done into how autism can affect people in many different ways and that we are all so different...
However,
I myself have high functioning autism and I find it maddening that the whole world has descended on this in such a negative way. It is not the first film to use neurotypical actors (think Jonah and the Whale) and won't be the last. It is always positive to use autistic actors for roles such as this, but not always possible and not always fair. Maddies role was quite full-on. Many profoundly autistic people would find it too overwhelming and stressful. Also, this particular movie being a Musical, I highly doubt there are many who are also professional dancers. Regarding the restraint scenes: I have a weighted blanket and the feeling of being under something gives me a sense of security as it does for many like me. When I get overwhelmed I want to hide in silence and darkness. However if another PERSON did it to me, I would freak! I think it was that the film got wrong. The security comes with being hugged by someTHING and not someONE. Finally, the word "ableist" doesn't even exist and there should never be an "us and them" attitude with anything- it's so absurd! Being autistic i worry that the over-the-top reactions towards just a lighthearted musical comedy are damaging. Hollywood historically doesn't always do so well with Autism as the range of symptoms between individuals are vast. However media will end up frightened to portray any neurodiverse individuals in the future for fear of the negative attitudes from individuals who just like complaining ("woke" comes to mind) many of which also have little to no experience of autism. Also, tv of any genre is never %100 accurate or realistic, and if it was, it would become boring. Comedies are there to make us feel good. That's it! With this being her first movie, it was produced quite well and I think Sia didn't do too badly at it and a score of 3.1 is all based on the fact that the world is going mad. Take it for what it is: entertainment.
I enjoyed the storyline surrounding Zu, an alcoholic drug dealer trying to get her life together and ending up becoming responsible for her sister with multiple needs. Maddies depiction of a profoundly autistic girl wasn't great and I agree with many that the scenes on restraint are rather misguided. Although a talented dancer, I don't see her as a brilliant actress anyway- although she was only 14 years old during filming. I also agree that maybe a little more research could be done into how autism can affect people in many different ways and that we are all so different...
However,
I myself have high functioning autism and I find it maddening that the whole world has descended on this in such a negative way. It is not the first film to use neurotypical actors (think Jonah and the Whale) and won't be the last. It is always positive to use autistic actors for roles such as this, but not always possible and not always fair. Maddies role was quite full-on. Many profoundly autistic people would find it too overwhelming and stressful. Also, this particular movie being a Musical, I highly doubt there are many who are also professional dancers. Regarding the restraint scenes: I have a weighted blanket and the feeling of being under something gives me a sense of security as it does for many like me. When I get overwhelmed I want to hide in silence and darkness. However if another PERSON did it to me, I would freak! I think it was that the film got wrong. The security comes with being hugged by someTHING and not someONE. Finally, the word "ableist" doesn't even exist and there should never be an "us and them" attitude with anything- it's so absurd! Being autistic i worry that the over-the-top reactions towards just a lighthearted musical comedy are damaging. Hollywood historically doesn't always do so well with Autism as the range of symptoms between individuals are vast. However media will end up frightened to portray any neurodiverse individuals in the future for fear of the negative attitudes from individuals who just like complaining ("woke" comes to mind) many of which also have little to no experience of autism. Also, tv of any genre is never %100 accurate or realistic, and if it was, it would become boring. Comedies are there to make us feel good. That's it! With this being her first movie, it was produced quite well and I think Sia didn't do too badly at it and a score of 3.1 is all based on the fact that the world is going mad. Take it for what it is: entertainment.
- carlylestrange
- Mar 1, 2021
- Permalink
- evandrblack
- Feb 24, 2021
- Permalink
I'm heartbroken, angry, and so, so disgusted. Sia was my hero for so long. As a neurodivergent person watching this, I felt sick to my stomach to the point I had to turn it off. Is this really how she sees me? How she sees people like me? I'm so disappointed someone I used to look up to so much turned out to be a wretch of a person. Absolutely evil.
- mothslayer-03243
- Feb 22, 2021
- Permalink
This was an absolute yikes. Sis has Maddie Ziegler trapped in a gilded cage as she forces her to act as a caricature of an autistic person. If you are autistic, the movie itself may over stimulate you, so be prepared.
- underwhelmedvibe
- Feb 15, 2021
- Permalink
This movie is awful. It was blatantly offensive, and there was no effort made to have an autistic actor play the role of an autistic character. Because of this, the portrayal of Music is offensive and looks like someone mocking autistic people. There were restraint techniques shown that are dangerous and could kill autistic people, despite this there was no disclaimer like Sia claimed there would be. This is inspiration p*rn by definition, it's a story about autistic people that is made for anyone but us (I have ASD). On top of that, it's badly written. The plot is non-existent, the characters are flat and unrelatable, and the light effects (flashing and bright colors) make is near impossible for lots of autistic and neurodivergent people to watch it. Don't see this movie, it's disgusting and ableist to the core.
- ottosanaker
- Feb 15, 2021
- Permalink
- iris_depree
- Feb 12, 2021
- Permalink
This film is a mockery of Autism, when faced with criticism Sia chose to be abusive.
The lead was seemingly uncomfortable that it'd be viewed as mocking & it is
This film is dressed as a telling of an autistic story but quotes suggest story ranges from never considering an autistic actor through to considering one, having a work environment which prohibited them & rather then changing it, just cast a frequent collaborator
An apology also only seemed to appear after award nominations & things like earnings or removing scenes don't seem to have been done
The lead was seemingly uncomfortable that it'd be viewed as mocking & it is
This film is dressed as a telling of an autistic story but quotes suggest story ranges from never considering an autistic actor through to considering one, having a work environment which prohibited them & rather then changing it, just cast a frequent collaborator
An apology also only seemed to appear after award nominations & things like earnings or removing scenes don't seem to have been done
This movie should have never been made to begin with, but the fact that it has been released to the public with its ableist bs storyline is appalling. Restraints that have killed autistic persons should not be glorified in a film setting EVER
- sweidman-28016
- Feb 17, 2021
- Permalink
I cant believe sia even released this. horrible depictions of people on the spectrum. i'm disgusted. i wish i could rate this movie even lower.
- brook-09844
- Feb 15, 2021
- Permalink
I went into this having heard and seen nothing but horrific reviews, I literally rented it to criticize it. I dont even know who Sia is, im not really all that current with music, especially not pop.
My son is severely autistic. You have to understand its a spectrum. Yes lots of autistic people are savants, many are varying degrees of functional.
Luckily for me, by the grace of God, I was actually a direct support professional for a residential facility for adults with intellectual disabilities before he ever even started showing behaviors, he was about 4 months old when I was hired and received tons of training to get my D. S. P. And medpass.
At nine months old he had what refer to as "the great degression". All signs of talking or sounds other than, what the neighborhood called dinosaur calls. He became absolutely obsessed with watching very specific movies. VERY SPECIFIC. Lion king Aladdin frozen frozen 2 trolls Shrek peter pan Moana. Thats it. Those are your choices. I might not know Sia but I know every single song in those movies by heart.
Hes 3 now. Still in diapers. So handsome. Like seriously. People say all the time "he doesn't even look autistic". LMAO. He's still completely non verbal. Aside from "singing".... its still not words just instead of screeching and screaming, now its more like holding a note a long time sometimes its different strange noises.
I whole heartedly believe the screaming and headbanging, he used to bang his head on the floor until about a year, all of that was solved thanks to early intervention. Any hope I have for the possibility of his functionality in the future is because I think he is truly making progress in school, if nothing else, friends.
I love my baby boy and I have and always will be his advocate.
As long as I live, and I know I will never be lonely, he will always be here.
But some day I won't.
This movie started out a portrayal of my worst nightmare.
But I have always wondered what goes on his mind, this almost seemed plausible, at least as close as we can get 🤔 Everyone's criticisms of this movie so far seem totally invalid to me, I dont even understand. There was absolutely nothing offensive about this movie. They say she was "over the top", my son would have reacted much worse, my cousin max would have given himself a concussion hitting himself. She did wonderfully, she played the role so realistic in my opinion.
Yea shes a pretty non asd (muggle) actress. Every great movie about anyone with any form of IDD has been played by actors.
One of the tell tale signs my son was autistic before 2, he wouldn't ever pretend, no imaginary food or anything.
Trying to get a non verbal autistic person to act is impossible.
You ask yourself constantly, do they even understand me? And they do but for my son, this end of the spectrum, he understands empathically not literally.
Literally the only criticisms I have is that it is important to take them to school or therapy, with occupational and sensory therapy even only in her home, I mean I know its not real and all, but its important people know there are so many ways to intervene and get help and it important to be proactive early.
Id like to add, my son likes this movie. Im so excited to add it to the list! He loves all the colors and singing and dancing, absolutely enthralled and jumps around making his singing noises too.
If you can't see that girl communicating your not watching with empathy.
My son is severely autistic. You have to understand its a spectrum. Yes lots of autistic people are savants, many are varying degrees of functional.
Luckily for me, by the grace of God, I was actually a direct support professional for a residential facility for adults with intellectual disabilities before he ever even started showing behaviors, he was about 4 months old when I was hired and received tons of training to get my D. S. P. And medpass.
At nine months old he had what refer to as "the great degression". All signs of talking or sounds other than, what the neighborhood called dinosaur calls. He became absolutely obsessed with watching very specific movies. VERY SPECIFIC. Lion king Aladdin frozen frozen 2 trolls Shrek peter pan Moana. Thats it. Those are your choices. I might not know Sia but I know every single song in those movies by heart.
Hes 3 now. Still in diapers. So handsome. Like seriously. People say all the time "he doesn't even look autistic". LMAO. He's still completely non verbal. Aside from "singing".... its still not words just instead of screeching and screaming, now its more like holding a note a long time sometimes its different strange noises.
I whole heartedly believe the screaming and headbanging, he used to bang his head on the floor until about a year, all of that was solved thanks to early intervention. Any hope I have for the possibility of his functionality in the future is because I think he is truly making progress in school, if nothing else, friends.
I love my baby boy and I have and always will be his advocate.
As long as I live, and I know I will never be lonely, he will always be here.
But some day I won't.
This movie started out a portrayal of my worst nightmare.
But I have always wondered what goes on his mind, this almost seemed plausible, at least as close as we can get 🤔 Everyone's criticisms of this movie so far seem totally invalid to me, I dont even understand. There was absolutely nothing offensive about this movie. They say she was "over the top", my son would have reacted much worse, my cousin max would have given himself a concussion hitting himself. She did wonderfully, she played the role so realistic in my opinion.
Yea shes a pretty non asd (muggle) actress. Every great movie about anyone with any form of IDD has been played by actors.
One of the tell tale signs my son was autistic before 2, he wouldn't ever pretend, no imaginary food or anything.
Trying to get a non verbal autistic person to act is impossible.
You ask yourself constantly, do they even understand me? And they do but for my son, this end of the spectrum, he understands empathically not literally.
Literally the only criticisms I have is that it is important to take them to school or therapy, with occupational and sensory therapy even only in her home, I mean I know its not real and all, but its important people know there are so many ways to intervene and get help and it important to be proactive early.
Id like to add, my son likes this movie. Im so excited to add it to the list! He loves all the colors and singing and dancing, absolutely enthralled and jumps around making his singing noises too.
If you can't see that girl communicating your not watching with empathy.
- lindalopreste
- Apr 12, 2021
- Permalink
I found nothing offensive about the person casted as the autistic character Music, my niece is non-verbal autistic and I saw a lot of my niece in Music, a lower functioning autistic person. From the sounds she made, hand and eye movements, outburst, even the walking on her tip toes, all of it, she did great research to play this role. Anyone who thinks she did a disservice to autistic people have never seen this level of autism.
Music and dance scenes were used to convey what might be going on in the mind of an autistic person and also it was used to express what was going on deep within each of the other main characters. Some of those scenes I didn't like, strange music, odd dances and costumes. However a few were actually very good, especially when it was from Music's mind. I always wonder what my niece might be thinking, as sometimes she would start laughing or crying for what seems like no reason, but there is something going on within her which she can't express to us.
And there is a story being told, it's not just about an autistic girl. I enjoyed the story as it unfolded, I even cried.
It's a good movie, watch it with an open mind.
Music and dance scenes were used to convey what might be going on in the mind of an autistic person and also it was used to express what was going on deep within each of the other main characters. Some of those scenes I didn't like, strange music, odd dances and costumes. However a few were actually very good, especially when it was from Music's mind. I always wonder what my niece might be thinking, as sometimes she would start laughing or crying for what seems like no reason, but there is something going on within her which she can't express to us.
And there is a story being told, it's not just about an autistic girl. I enjoyed the story as it unfolded, I even cried.
It's a good movie, watch it with an open mind.
- miss-62350
- Aug 3, 2021
- Permalink
Despite the warnings not to watch this movie so Sia won't make a profit, sadly I decided to watch just to give a real and honest review. It's awful, plain and simple. The story itself is just shallow and it's obvious this was a stunt to promote her new album. Black face, micro aggressions, ableism, the representation of acts that have killed autistic people.. it's clear Sia didn't do any of the research she said she did. This movie is just depressing.
- miriamglaser
- Feb 14, 2021
- Permalink