The feature film “Music”, the first production of singer Sia, has been strongly criticized for its stereotypical portrayal of autism.
For her big film debut as a director, Sia surely didn’t expect to be the target of such violent attacks. The Australian singer, adored throughout the world for several decades, has indeed released this year Music, a film depicting the complex relationship between a young woman plagued by addictions and her autistic half-sister.
Fifteen years were necessary for the filmmaker to bring this project to fruition, born of an encounter with a young mentally handicapped girl. The film brings together Kate Hudson and dancer Maddie Ziegler, Sia’s muse, who appeared in several of her clips, including that of the song Chandelier. Released last February in the United States, the film was quickly the target of criticism for the treatment of its subject.
First, the choice of actress Maddie Ziegler to play the heroine called Music. Many associations have indeed regretted that an autistic actress was not chosen for the role; despite the preparation work of the young woman, her performance was considered caricature and above all not very credible. The presence in the film of a sequence showing a restraint to immobilize the young Music during one of its crises, practice moreover completely prohibited, also shocked many.
A petition launched in the months leading up to the film’s release to prevent – in vain – its theatrical release also garnered more than 30,000 signatures. Hannah Marshall, at the origin of this movement, particularly regretted that Sia did not call on a consultant suffering from autism.
Musical artist Sia plans to release a film called Music next year. One of the characters in the film is played by neurotypical actress Maddie Ziegler. In addition, no person with autism was consulted for the film. Stereotypes are present throughout the trailer, and the images will be unbearable for any spectator with autism who wishes to see the film.
“A fiction, not a documentary”
In an interview given last May to Figaro Madame, the director has decided to take responsibility for her choices, especially with regard to the casting of the film: “Working with Maddie was obvious, and I take it. Music is fiction, not documentary. For the role of Music’s half-sister, Zu, a former drug trafficker, I chose Kate Hudson, who has never sold drugs in his life, but who plays this character in an impressive way. “
Nominated at the Golden Globes in the category Best comic or musical film, but also at the Razzie Awards (which “reward” the worst films of the year), Music is now considered a real industrial accident, as well as a particularly embarrassing exit from the road in Sia’s career. The film was also cut to pieces by the critics, almost unanimous in attributing it the qualifier of “turnip”.
“The choice of Maddie Ziegler is only one of the many pitfalls the director crashes on. The dancer is never credible and her clumsy efforts to represent disability contribute to the mediocrity of the film.” note for example Marine Quinchon from Parisian, while Cécile Mury (Telerama) does not take gloves to qualify the film “strange nanar”.
If you still want to get an idea of the film, know that Music de Sia is now available on the OCS on-demand platform.
