Why I gave a 4/10.
As far as self-documentaries go, I'd say this is one of the best. You'll immediately notice that she's a talent around the camera and the portrayal of the three faces of her life, "Matangi, Maya and M. I A." is also laid out in a very captivating manner. When it comes to the political side, it does a decent job at portraying what an immigrant, especially a Sri Lankan or an Indian would have to experience when moving to western countries like the UK even in this day and age. Above all it's not boring to watch. Because I've found most documentaries that are based around artists like this to be quite sluggish and boring but definitely not this one.
Why I gave a 4/10?
The politics. The allegations she's trying to highlight regarding the wartime incidents in Sri Lanka are extremely one-sided. If I were a Tamil person who supported the LTTE and their views, I'll accord with almost every statement she makes about the civil war in this documentary. There's really nothing in terms of accounts from the other side. The Sri Lankan civil war was an immensely, tremendously complicated situation which ultimately stands every party that got involved in it at fault. To put it simply, there were no good guys and bad guys. Both sides traded blows and only ones that truly got hurt were the innocent civilians and the heroic young soldiers. It's not right of her to accuse an entire nation with atrocities while only having exposure to a mere fraction of the situation. These facts alone were grim enough for me to give this a 4 out of 10. If she was going to touch the war topic, she could've at least done it right.
As a "self-documentary" Matangi/Maya/M. I. A. Is a solid make. It's a shame that numerous bits got cut out in the final production (as she stated in an interview with Vanity Fair) as I'm sure they could've also been equally engaging. But it's easy to understand as to why they were cut out in the first place. The message she's trying to put out politically is simply deceiving for anyone who don't know about the history and the development of the Sri Lankan civil war.