MATANGI/MAYA/M.I.A.
Abramorama | Release Date: September 28, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
L.A. WeeklySerena DonadoniSep 26, 2018
With Matangi/Maya/M.I.A., Loveridge celebrates the mashup aesthetic that enabled the artist to find a voice, and reveals that reconciling contradictions — like an outrageous sense of humor and earnest political activism — is key to both Arulpragasam’s music and the life she’s constructed with audacity and wit. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiNov 21, 2018
A vibrant, outspoken, and incredibly talented artist, this doc is both a biography of a life and a document of a person living on her own terms, just trying to figure things out like the rest of us. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid EhrlichSep 25, 2018
A lucid crystallization of both Arulpragasam’s private life and her public mission, Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. offers an intimate profile of a righteously modern renegade without ever feeling like propaganda or a plea to stream her latest album on Spotify. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeSep 25, 2018
It is very much the MIA story told from the MIA viewpoint. Normally, this might be an issue, but, as the film points out, so many people have rushed to undermine and discredit her, it’s perhaps only fair that in this case she gets to tell her side, without spin or sly references to truffle fries. Read full review
80
EmpireAmon WarmannSep 24, 2018
An intimate, illuminating doc that puts the focus on M.I.A.’s activism instead of her music and is, in some ways, all the more admirable for it. Read full review
80
CineVueKatie DriscollSep 19, 2018
This 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. Read full review
80
The GuardianCharlie PhillipsAug 29, 2018
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. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesTom KeoghOct 4, 2018
The unusual but revealing documentary Matangi / Maya / M.I.A., a hodgepodge of old video diaries, music videos, performances and interviews spanning decades, reflects M.I.A.’s passionate efforts to enlighten fans about victims of government oppression — while also getting people around the world dancing to her music. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comTomris LafflySep 28, 2018
It puts the ever-controversial M.I.A. in an intimate context perceived not only by herself, but also by her close friend, who complements Arulpragasam’s candid, camera-facing, self-interrogative recordings of over two decades with other archival material as well as his own work. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 25, 2018
Her style, smart outspokenness, controlling her image and art, are a wonder to behold. Read full review
75
The Film StageLeonardo GoiApr 5, 2018
Far 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. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineSam C. MacMar 20, 2018
Stephen 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. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshSep 27, 2018
It inspires deep respect for the fierce and independent artist she is, a person whose voice is necessary, now more than ever. Read full review
70
VarietyGuy LodgeAug 29, 2018
It’s a film as compellingly all over the shop as its subject, even if it doesn’t quite have her beat on stylistic verve and risk. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerOct 4, 2018
Why is she a problematic pop star? That’s the premise, but I’m not sure we get the answer here. Read full review
60
The GuardianCath ClarkeSep 20, 2018
There’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. Read full review
60
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganAug 29, 2018
Loveridge 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. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinAug 29, 2018
The 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. Read full review
50
The New York TimesGlenn KennySep 27, 2018
The documentary elicits some viewer indignation on her behalf, but overall, it’s not a very inspired piece of work. While it depicts M.I.A.’s bristling at being called a terrorist advocate, it never wholly clarifies her specific political aims. Read full review
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