Gaga: Five Foot Two

The film does not hesitate to reduce the quality of the recordings by cell phone recordings from the private life of the pop queen. It is precisely this directness that defines the honesty of the film. Lady Gaga up close. The documentary is nicely told but, above all, made easy.

One thing I really liked about this documentary is how it so often uses a musical and visual way to document her life, as opposed to a verbal narrative. It uses seamless camera and editing tactics to portray the events and her possible emotional states in a way that can't be accurately described with words, which essentially served the purpose of this documentary. We get a glimpse into the life of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, which is a stark contrast to her artistic persona as Ladygaga, a couple of scenes in this documentary depicts that. Joanne is such a sweet soul, and from this documentary we learn that every human being has struggles, even for a successful big star like Ladygaga, and that there are so many layers within one human being, her artistic stage persona does not fully represent her as a human being.

Lady Gaga is quite simply known everywhere. From the tiniest of countries to the most desolate of wastelands. She has made a name for herself through her unconventional provocative work and visual experimentation. But more importantly, she is a talented musician who (despite us all forgetting) is actually still a human being. This documentary chronicles the conception of her fifth album 'Joanne', a devoted production delving into the death of Gaga's aunt. Pressure was an understatement for the singer. Deterring away from the memorably eccentric albums that were predominantly dance-pop, to a stripped back vocally charged album that reminded us all how talented of a musician she really is. Powering this production though, is a sense of emotional distress. Tackling themes of family, love and life, this lesser documentary acts as a small window peering into a large life. Is this part-biopic entirely necessary? Not at all. With a lack of genuine emotional heft and/or an inevitable tragedy, it does negate its very purpose. However, it's still not without sentimentality. Moukarbel's focus on the struggles and immense pressure of an album release is prevalent, particularly Gaga's chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia. You feel every inch of her personality burst through the screen as she balances music with acting and other performances. The style to the documentary was ever so haphazard to begin with, lacking coherence and structure. Not to mention the lack of performance footage, I wanted to see that Superbowl performance! But picks things up when Gaga works on 'Joanne'. Showcasing her meltdowns and fan interactions only emphasises her humanity. Her formidable exterior that the media present is torn down by this intimate film, where her compassion is enhanced gently. Radiating benevolence and decency, a whole new side to Gaga is explored and presented captivatingly which both fans and casual audiences will enjoy. Although, I've heard she's actually five foot one...

These types of documentaries always interest me, regardless if they were actually any good or needed to be made. Many people will dislike a movie like this simply because they will think it is just a way to make more money for a whole of people that already have tonnes of money. Or the problems they face aren't really problems, and watching someone whinge about how hard their life is when they have a mansion and millions of followers is excruciating. But I find it quite captivating. In many ways I think these movies capture quite a clear extract of modern pop culture and share it with the world. I find it educating to see how someone like Lady Gaga lives her life, what her day to day looks like, what annoys her or what gets her excited, or what someone of this fame's values are. Most of the time I come away from a movie like this, thankful I'm not famous, or a pop star, thankful that I have my own quiet place with a handful of people that care about me, and I was again in this viewpoint after watching Gaga.

She shares an insight on what it is like to work for producers and some of the power plays going on behind the scenes that just seem so twisted and power hungry as she shares about the dynamics at play when men with lots of money can ask for whatever they want. It's no wonder that the #Metoo movement was exposing many people like this, and long may it continue.

Alongside this Gaga also displays many of her inner traumas as she is processing her break up with her fiance and trying to return to preforming while coming back from a hip injury. You can quite clearly see the mental weight of keeping up with trends, of trying to find yourself, of being secure, or doing what you feel you were made to do. All things that Gaga is trying to put her own spin on. She decides that this is because she's become a woman and not a girl anymore, that its something to do with age. But I think this clearly shows that fame can just prolong maturity, that she lost her sense of herself in her fame of 21, 22. She didn't know what she wanted and just went with what she was told. Compared to her now deciding what she wants. This is something I feel like, I'm able to do sooooo much easier, at a much younger age, and that becoming famous in your early 20s at a time of such change, insecurity and identity development is actually such a burden, something that can take years to unravel.

So this doco, is a bit strange, but as I've said uncovers quite a hidden world and really shows that fame and fortune are really just a huge disappointment and to put your hope in them is a terrible idea. Great to watch the doco from this point of view, any other view and its just ok.

It's like she's a 70 year old career woman in a 30 year old body with the humility of a 20 year old. Confusing, I know.

I would have liked to seen the aftermath of her super bowl performance. I think the film really missed an opportunity there, unless Gaga didn't sign off on it. Does she maintain her "I don't give a f*** about what people think of me." mentality?

At the end of this film you will come to see how lonely she is and not okay with herself. I actually drew inspiration from that fact alone.

She's meticulous, she's usually in pain, she DOES care for her craft and has passion. If she didn't have fans and people to perform for she would likely shrivel up.

This film showed me that performing really is her calling card and she's going to have to be comfortable with being lonely at the end of the day---for a while. I have a different kind of respect for Gaga but I haven't quite figured out what that may be.