Music is a 2021 musical drama film directed by Sia and co-written by her and children's book writer Dallas Clayton (based on a single-page story she wrote in 2007). It stars Maddie Ziegler in the title role alongside Kate Hudson and Leslie Odom Jr., and also features supporting roles by Tig Notaro, Ben Schwartz and Héctor Elizondo.
Kazu "Zu" Gamble (Hudson) is a recently sober drug dealer who is long since estranged from her family. That suddenly changes when her grandmother dies and she becomes the new guardian of her teenage non-verbal autistic half-sister, Music (Ziegler). Despite still struggling to get her own life together, Zu tries to provide for her sister and gets help from their neighbor, Ebo Odom (Odom). The plot is interspersed with musical Imagine Spots featuring songs by Sia, showing how Music perceives the world.
The film was released in Australia on January 14, 2021, and in the United States on February 12 of the same year.
Tropes:
- Africa Is a Country: Ebo is said to be from "a village" in alternatively Ghana or Africa, but given that the population of Ghana is 30.42 million people — and Africa, 1.216 billion — that's akin to saying an American character is from "a town" in North America.
- Bury Your Disabled: Ebo mentions to Zu that like her, he also used to have a sibling who was autistic — a younger brother, in his case — but he ended up being killed by superstitious people in his village in Africa. Presumably, this is intended to establish how Ebo knows how to help autistic people like Music.Zu: Where is he now?Ebo: He is dead now. (smiles)
- Color Motifs: White is predominately associated with Music herself.
- Creator Cameo: Sia herself makes an appearance in the movie as a "Popstar Without Borders".
- Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Music is very much on the autism spectrum and has a very limited vocabulary consisting of a few short phrases ("make you eggs", "braid your hair", and "go to bed" are the most commonly heard ones), but the musical numbers she imagines suggests that she is very musically creative. At Ebo's ex-wife's wedding, she is able to sing alongside Zu.
- Karma Houdini: Felix's dad abuses him and his mom, which culminates in him killing Felix for standing up to him. Because Felix's plot thread is dropped with no conclusion, he appears to get off scot-free for his crimes.
- Meaningful Name: Music's name is quite fitting, since her perspective is often shown through musical numbers.
- Never Learned to Talk: Music is partially verbal, and as such is able to say very little other than "Make your eggs", "Go to bed" and "braid your hair". At the end of the movie, Music utters "Don't go" when Music's half-sister Zu contemplates sending her to a special needs group home and also sings a duet with Zu at Ebo's ex-wife's wedding in the final scene.
- Off the Wagon: When Music has an allergic reaction to a bee sting and Zu loses her possessions and drugs she was going to sell, she falls back into alcoholism.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Millie, Music's grandmother and caretaker, suddenly dies from a stroke near the start of the film, which kicks off the plot of Zu having to take care of her.
- Practically Different Generations: While it's never specified how old Kazu and her half-sister Music are, Kazu is presumably somewhere in her thirties (her actress Kate Hudson was 38 at the time of filming) while Music is presumably somewhere in her teens (her actress Maddie Ziegler was 14), thus giving them an age gap of at least a decade.
- Recovered Addict: Zu is a recently-recovered alcoholic. Until various hardships make her fall back into it again.
- Reformed Criminal: Zu has to keep dealing drugs to pay off her debt to her supplier. In the end, she pays back her debt the legitimate way, by getting a job at a hardware store.
- Satellite Character: Music, despite being the title character, doesn't have much agency in the story. Most of what she does only serves to fuel Zu's Character Development.
- Scary Black Man: Deconstructed by Ebo in one scene. When they're at home, Ebo is able to put Music in a prone restraint to calm her down. However, when Music has a meltdown in a public park, he points out that he can't be the one to do it, because if anyone saw a black man pinning down a white girl, they'd jump to a certain conclusion about what's happening. Because of this, Kazu has to be the one to restrain her this time.
- Show Within a Show: The Radgicals, a saccharine children's show, can be seen at various points, usually being watched by Music. This show was at one point, meant to be made into a real show with the film essentially pitching the show.
- That Makes Me Feel Angry: At one point, Music is given an AAC device by Ebo, letting her communicate her emotions. She only uses it to say phrases like "I am happy" or "I am sad", which are delivered in Machine Monotone.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Over the course of the movie, Zu gradually goes from selfish drug addict to a caring parental figure. Her initial reaction to her grandmother’s death is to ask about a will, and she initially has little interest in caring for Music and plans to sell her grandmother's belongings. Her experiences over the course of the story make her evolve as a person, and she eventually decides to become Music's caretaker full-time, abandoning her plans to send her to an institution for disabled children so she can move to Costa Rica.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Music insists on having fried eggs sunny side-up every morning, with "make you eggs" being one of the few sentences she's able to speak. It's Truth in Television that autistic people can have a limited diet and insist on eating the same thing most days.
- Wham Line: Music suddenly saying "Don't go. Sit down now." when Zu nearly follows through with abandoning her at an institution.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Felix's subplot, where he's forced to take boxing lessons by his father and eventually refuses to fight his opponent, ends unceremoniously with him being accidentally killed by his abusive father in a fit of rage. We never see the consequences of this, which can make Felix's father come across as a Karma Houdini.
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: The main characters being named "Kazu" and "Music" are Hand Waved by being chosen by their mother who was an Addled Addict.
