70
Metascore
19 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- The film comes from a place of deep admiration for MIA, but unlike more fawning biographies, it makes a convincing case that this admiration is well earned.
- 80CineVueKatie DriscollCineVueKatie DriscollThis is not a run-of-the-mill pop doc: it’s part defiant portrayal of a woman, part autobiographical travelogue, part tale of a country in turmoil through the coming of age story of a young girl, and part meditation on creativity and self-hood, baring all about the elusive grasp of the westernised dream.
- 75Slant MagazineSam C. MacSlant MagazineSam C. MacStephen Loveridge fully understands that even the trifurcated title of his film may not be entirely equipped at capturing the extent of M.I.A.'s many-faceted identity.
- 75The Film StageThe Film StageFar from a hagiography or a sterile playlist doc, Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. is an uncompromising look at an artist who always refused to play by the script others laid out for her.
- 75Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreHer style, smart outspokenness, controlling her image and art, are a wonder to behold.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe frequent zigzagging back and forth between the 2010s, the present, the early 2000s and Arulpragasam's childhood becomes quite dizzying over the long haul, and the film almost starts to feel like a work that's gotten lost in the editing suite as the director and subject struggle to say everything about globalism, fame, identity and whatever else comes into their heads, until the film is at risk of saying nothing much at all.
- 60Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganScreen DailyFionnuala HalliganLoveridge doesn’t seem to trust Maya’s natural significance and strains for the doc about her to achieve UN levels of relevance. Taking her for what she is would have been more than enough.
- 60The GuardianCath ClarkeThe GuardianCath ClarkeThere’s a made-by-a-mate feel to the film, which jumps around confusingly: if you’re not a fan it might help to read her Wiki page for context. Perhaps there is just too much MIA for one film to handle. One thing’s for sure, in an era of manufactured pop stars, she is resplendently unfiltered.