Kate Hudson in Song.
Photo: vertical entertainment
An old-fashioned piece of brazen cheating, Sia Song it can be hilarious if it’s not so offensive. The problem began at the end of last year, when the debut of the singer-songwriter-who-director was called upon by many to cast Maddie Ziegler, the neurotypical dance prodigy and child star of several videos of Sia, playing Music, a teenager with autism. Some made an understandable exception to scenes that leaked with characters from the film casually using Music in a form of restriction that can, in fact, be quite dangerous. They were more disturbed for reports that the YouTube clips Ziegler watched to research his role were videos that parents posted of their children having collapses – scenes showing these children in their weakest and most vulnerable moments, which were now being used to extrapolate a whole set of behaviors.
All of this is problematic, certainly (and Sia has made some excuses since), but Songthe biggest sin of may well be that, in the guise of giving exposure to an underrepresented community, it actually produces a silly and cliché melodrama that manages to further marginalize that community. Even if Sia had done everything right – scaled differently, examined the procedures described, etc. – the movie would probably still be terrible thanks to its story, which is more about Music’s older half sister, Zu (Kate Hudson) and her attempts at straightening out. Zu returns to Music’s life after his grandmother (Mary Kay Place), who was taking care of the girl, dies of a sudden heart attack. Zu thinks there may be money in the will, so she appears, only to find that in addition to not having money, she is also responsible for the care and well-being of an autistic child.
But any real drama that could have come from Zu’s immature, childish and opportunistic premise learning to understand and love his sister is hampered by the fact that Sia doesn’t seem so interested in their lives together. Instead, we have a secondary plot about Zu dealing drugs to survive, his long conversations with his very strange and possibly psychotic supplier Rudy (Ben Schwartz), to whom she owes a lot of money, and a lot of scenes in which she tries to pass on music for other people. We understand Zu’s irresponsibility, but it all raises other questions: What exactly does music do Does all day? What does it really mean to care for her? What we are her needs, plus the walk she does every morning and the list of allergies that grandma helpfully wrote in a notebook? The film never really gives us an insight into these subjects. It simply assures us that it is a big challenge – which can be the most offensive thing about it.
Meanwhile, a kind neighbor, Ebo (Leslie Odom, Jr.), who was already helping Grandma, arrives to offer guidance, wisdom, discreet romantic tension and occasional dark looks to make sure we know he is suffering silently, too . (Without Zu’s knowledge, he has HIV.) Also hovering over Music’s life is a kind and quiet teenager across the street, who trains boxing at the gym where Ebo works, although he really wants to be an artist, much to his tough father’s disapproval. It is like one of those music videos from 20 or 30 years ago, where we would see a whole cavalcade of people in silent agony, to validate the great themes of a pop ballad. Who knows? It might be Song would have worked in that format. But, in the end, the challenges of their characters do not come with the specificity or sensitivity necessary to immerse us in their worlds and bring them to life. Everything is designed with the abbreviation of general features of a video clip, where the depth of the narrative is rarely the point.
But then there are the musical numbers. The film is full of them, and this is where Sia is most secure. Surreal dance sequences in primary colors are often dreamlike visions – full of exaggerated facial expressions, ridiculous fantasies and sudden, grandiose movements that have become a staple of your videos over the years – and have a contagious and hallucinatory energy, like Busby Berkeley tried to redo Dr. T’s 5,000 fingers in the largest foam pit in the world. Ziegler is an incredible dancer, for sure. And the songs are wonderful, because, well, you know, Sia. With their vivid colors, mind-blowing sets, thunderous beats and aching melodies, these scenes remind us of how the director remains a talented musician – and even suggest the type of filmmaker she could become. But then the dance is over, the film and its banal story are back on track, and any goodwill we may have gathered dissipates once again.
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