This film is a harmful depiction of Autism, and is clear that very little research actually went into this film, with the hate group Autism Speaks clearly being an influence. This is shown in the film through Zu and Ebo having very little understanding on how to assist Music. We see on two occasions Ebo physically restrain Music to the ground as a way to 'help' Music when she is having a meltdown (they refer to this as one of her "episodes" further showing their lack of understanding). Furthermore, the way that Autism is handled is atrocious. Constantly the character's talk over music and not with her, which just make's Music seem invisible. I felt throughout the film that the acting mocked autism, and making it out that autism is a problem, this was not helped by casting a neurotypical actor as the role of Music.
Moreover, The film severely lacks plot, making it a drag to watch. The film is wooden, and the characters feel 2D with little character development. To add to this the structure of the film is just bizarre. Throughout the film there are music video's that represent what is going on in the character's minds. This would have been a good idea if it had actually been executed properly, and didn't appropriate minority groups in the process. Considering this film is supposed to depict autism, it is not friendly for autistic viewers. There are constant flashing lights, and the colours (especially in the music videos) are overstimulating.
Looking at the character's, there is not much to say about Music really as we don't see a lot of the film from her perspective, but instead from her older sister Zu. Zu is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic who is left to look after her younger sister Music. The problem is that she has absolutely no understanding of how to help her. We consistently see her unable to cope with Music and rely on Ebo's help, which doesn't help at all. The film ends up focussing heavily on Zu being a drug dealer and trying to pay back her own drug dealer. This completely takes away the aim of the film from the topic of autism to drug dealing which is not what this film was marketed as. Zu should not have been left to look after Music, she was clearly not in a fit state to do so, and it was unrealistic to portray that she was in the film. It felt throughout the film that we were meant to feel sorry for Zu, but in reality, it came across more as her being depicted as the victim in the situation, and not on how Music coped with the sudden change after losing her mum.
Overall, This film is damaging to the autistic community, and should not be nominated for two golden globes. If I could I would give this film 0 stars.
Review of Music
