Gaga: Five Foot Two

Gaga: Five Foot Two is a 2017 documentary film about American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga. It documents the events around the production and release of Gaga's fifth studio album, Joanne, and her halftime performance at Super Bowl LI.^[2] The film, directed by visual artist and documentarian Chris Moukarbel, made its debut at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival before having a worldwide streaming release on Netflix on September 22, 2017.^[3][4][5] It was also shown during the European leg of Gaga's Joanne World Tour, before each of her shows.^[6]

According to Netflix, Gaga: Five Foot Two is of cinéma vérité style, as to give viewers "unfiltered, behind-the-scenes access" to a year in the life of Gaga,^[5] during which they cover the production and release of her fifth studio album, Joanne. Many events are covered including her experiences with her entourage, her encounters with fans and her struggle with chronic pain caused by the onset of fibromyalgia.^[7][8][9] The film also offers an extensive look at the creation and execution of her critically lauded Super Bowl LI halftime performance, in addition to a variety of other topics and events, including her home life, the filming of her guest role as the character Scáthach on American Horror Story: Roanoke, and a discussion about her feud with singer Madonna, among other things.^[7][8]

The film had its premier at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2017,^[10] four days after Gaga had to cancel her concert in the country's Montreal due to respiratory infection.^[11] At the premiere, Gaga said it was important that the documentary not appear "big and commercial" and that viewers should not see "how perfect everything is", as she wanted the film to present a more authentic portrayal of her life and career. She also expressed hope that the film's depiction of her struggle with chronic pain would help others facing similar challenges feel less alone.^[10]

The documentary's poster and cover art, featuring rainbow waterfalls, flowers, and an extra eye streaming down Gaga's face, was created by Berlin-based German artist Pierre Schmidt (aka Drømsjel). Drømsjel's work, characterized by a surreal combination of vintage collage and digital manipulation, attracted the attention of the film's director, Chris Moukarbel, who had been following the artist’s work on Instagram before contacting him to create the poster. According to Drømsjel, the piece was a collaborative effort between himself, Gaga and her team, Netflix, and Dutch photography duo Inez and Vinoodh, who shot the photo for the cover.^[12] The pair have photographed Gaga for a variety of past projects including the singer's cover art for her 2013 single, "Applause".^[13] Schmidt stated that the collaborators discussed extensively how to produce a distinctive and “iconic” image for the documentary ahead of its premiere. He has also cited artists such as Salvador Dalí among the inspirations for his surreal visual style.^[12]

Gaga: Five Foot Two has received generally favorable reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 72%, based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 6.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Gaga: Five Foot Two offers an absorbing glimpse of its superstar subject's backstage life, albeit one weakened by inconsistent focus and a dearth of performance footage."^[14] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[15]

Film critic Owen Gleiberman reviewed the documentary for Variety saying that "Gaga radiates a potent energy — she's intensely funny and aware", and compared it to other musical documentaries like Madonna: Truth or Dare (1990). He commended Moukarbel's direction saying that he was able to "mix things up", showcasing Gaga's meltdowns as well as her camaraderie with fans.^[16] Leslie Felperin from The Hollywood Reporter complimented the scenes in the documentary such as Gaga playing "Joanne" for her grandmother, but found that despite all the jarring camerawork, the singer was more focused and scripted about her appearance. Felperin was positive about the technicalities of the film, saying "[the] package is assembled with competence and style, with graceful editing by Greg Arata helping to create a strong sense of story and continuity. Moukarbel and his sound editors frequently use swelling soundtrack choices and a flurry of fast edits to suggest the frenzy of Gaga's life."^[17]

Lauren O'Neill of Vice viewed the documentary as a revealing portrait of Gaga's loneliness amid fame and praised it for showing the physical and emotional toll of her demanding schedule. She found the film most effective when it focused on Gaga's vulnerability, especially in scenes involving her family, singling out the moment she plays "Joanne" to her grandmother as its most moving passage. Although O'Neill noted that the documentary is not entirely candid, she ultimately considered its unpolished depiction of Gaga's ordinary, offstage self to be valuable.^[18] Amanda Petrusich of The New Yorker described Gaga: Five Foot Two as engaging and unusually coherent for a music documentary, but argued that its most compelling moments are the unintentional ones, when Gaga's self-presentation seems at odds with what the camera captures. She wrote that the film conveys the loneliness of fame and the troubling blur between personal and professional relationships in Gaga's entourage, while also questioning the documentary's carefully managed intimacy and selective candor.^[19]

Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine argued that the film lacks the "momentum and artistic intent" of stronger music documentaries and often settles for "feigned realism as its own reward".^[20] Brian Lowry of CNN felt the documentary offers an intimate look at Gaga's life but rarely feels "as spontaneous or illuminating as [its] access would suggest", adding that parts of the film approach "the edge of tedium".^[21] Benjamin H. Smith of the Decider found the film engaging for fans but ultimately "a little disappointing", noting that despite attempts to reveal Gaga's ordinary side, "very little about her life is ordinary", and concluding that "sometimes the illusion is better than the reality".^[22] In a two-star review for The Guardian, Bryan Armen Graham described the documentary as "artfully directed" and "meticulously curated", but argued that it follows familiar genre beats and never becomes as revealing as it seems to promise. While he noted moments of vulnerability and sincerity, he concluded that Five Foot Two ultimately plays like "a longform advert" for Gaga's new phase, with "the mask still firmly in place".^[23]

• List of original films distributed by Netflix

• Official website
• Gaga: Five Foot Two at IMDb