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.
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