Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Music has an approval rating of 7% based on 55 reviews, with an average rating of 3.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Offensive in its depiction of autism—and painfully misguided in essentially every respect—Music is a vanity project that begs to be turned down." According to Metacritic, which assigned the film a weighted average score of 23 out of 100 based on 18 critics, Music received "generally unfavorable reviews".
Tom Breihan of Stereogum wrote that "Critics hate this thing" and noted the criticism of the casting of Ziegler. Jake Wilson of The Sydney Morning Herald called the film "scarcely less of a baffling fiasco" than Tom Hooper's Cats, that "leaves you wondering what anyone was thinking" and said the casting of Ziegler as an autistic girl is "self-evidently problematic" in the 2020s. James Croot of Stuff also compared Music to Cats, and wrote that the "characters are one-dimensional" and that "an inexplicable cameo from Sia herself is simply bizarre". Stephen Russell of Time Out stated that Music is "a well-intentioned but messily fantastical neurodiversity drama", giving it 2 out of 5 stars and comparing it to Rain Man. Charlotte O'Sullivan, writing for the Evening Standard, gave the same rating and criticised the film, describing it as a "crass and lazy mess". Kevin Maher, writing for The Times, gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, describing the film as a "hodgepodge head-wrecker" and questioning its Golden Globe nominations. He did, however, praise the soundtrack. Johnny Oleksinski, writing for the New York Post, called the film "unwatchable and offensive", giving it 0 out of 5 stars, saying that "Sia should leave the director's chair behind".
Teo Bugbee of The New York Times called Music a "cringeworthy drama", saying that the film "reduces disability to mannerisms that look indistinguishable from mockery." Lucy Rutherford of PerthNow accused the film of being "tone deaf", and wrote that the narrative flow being "interrupted by an album's worth of Sia music videos gets old very quickly". She also commented that the musical sequences "are not a replacement for giving Music a genuine point of view". Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph also gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, describing it as a "poorly judged, [...] fitfully peppy mess". Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson wrote that Music is a "messy" and "misguided" film. He described the songs as "pleasant" but criticised the choreography. Tim Grierson of Screen Daily penned that the film was executed "naive[ly]". Writing for Slate, Sara Luterman said that she felt "acute discomfort of watching [Ziegler] clumsily ape disability" and comments that "despite the movie's eponymous title", Music is more about Zu than the titular character. Multiple reviews noted parallels between Music and the 2008 film Tropic Thunder starring Ben Stiller as, in Matthew Rozsa of Salon's words, "an actor who tries to win an Oscar by playing a mentally disabled person and fails because his performance is so over-the-top way that it becomes cringe-y rather than compelling."
Luke Buckmaster of The Guardian gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote it "lacks credibility", with Ziegler's "distracting" performance feeling "ill-judged at best". He also penned that it is, in effect, "two very different films with wildly disparate tones" stuck together poorly. Clem Bastow, writing for the same publication, criticized Music's portrayal of autism, stating that it used "abject stereotypes", and noting that Ziegler's performance as the title character is the "standout disaster, serving us 'autism' the Rain Man way." She further wrote that "Music manages to both underestimate autistic people and infantilise them." Bastow also raises concerns about the portrayal of a potentially deadly prone restraint displayed in the film. In a negative review, Dalia Maeroff of The Pitt News wrote that the "bright flashing lights and colors featured throughout the movie make it unwatchable for the very people this movie was made for — people with autism, many of whom have epilepsy." Matt Zoller Seitz for RogerEbert.com wrote that "the film seems to be going for a gritty-yet-also-magical-and-empowering vibe" which lacked common sense and felt insincere and hollow even with its artistry and compassion.
Some critics, however, were more appreciative of the film. Andrew McMillen of The Australian praised Music, writing that it is a "portrait of autism in all its inward splendour and outward challenges". He also commended Ziegler's portrayal of the title character, describing her performance as "moving, singular and perfectly pitched" and as "one of the most moving, magnetic and complete performances in recent memory". Mark Morellini of Star Observer wrote that the film is "a joy to watch", and also applauded Ziegler's performance, describing it as "realistic and emotionally charged". Rachael Mead, writing for InDaily, described the musical interludes as "both visually stunning and musically stunning". Shirley Halperin of Variety described the film as an "exceptional" one "filled with music and visual splendour with heart at its core", and said that the long wait for the film's release "was well worth [it]". Alex Clement, writing for British website HeyUGuys, commended the film, writing that it is a "beautiful piece of art" and a "great accomplishment for a first time director." Clement also praised the musical sequences, describing them as "colourful, vibrant and wild". Tara Brady of The Irish Times said that Ziegler's performance is the "best thing" about the film, and praised the fact that it acknowledges autistic people "can be remarkable without having remarkable abilities", unlike in other films. David Fear, writing for Rolling Stone, wrote that the film painted the "world as pastel dance daydreams, one part Busby Berkeley, one part Daft Punk's 'Around the World', and one part Yo Gabba Gabba!", adding that you have to admire Sia's intentions, but stating the gap between that and the result is "Grand Canyon-esque". The Independent's Adam White wrote similarly of the film, saying that it is "undeniably well-intentioned", but, at the same time, "a total disaster".
