Gaga: Five Foot Two, a doc now streaming on Netflix, sheds light on the star,

Stephanie Merry writes.

1.

A painful life

She suffers from constant, debilitating pain. We knew this much already from recent headlines: Lady Gaga postponed the European leg of her tour because of chronic physical pain. She’s been open in the past about her fibromyalgia, but this is the first time fans will see for themselves what she’s going through, and it really is awful to watch.

2.

Madonna envy, maybe

She still admires Madonna — or claims to, anyway. In 2015, Madonna complained in Rolling Stone that Lady Gaga had ripped off one of her songs. (Born This Way shares a lot in common with Express Yourself.) Madonna wasn’t entirely harsh. She also said, “I do think she’s a very talented singer and songwriter. It was just that one issue.” In the movie, Gaga addresses the beef, saying that, while she still admires Madonna, she wishes the singer had the courage to just come to her directly rather than in the media.

3.

Imagine that

She puts a lot of thought into her image. Gaga decides to change her look during the lead-up to her album Joanne, which was named after her father’s sister, who died at 19 from complications related to lupus. While doing publicity for past records, she was usually glammed up in crazy couture, but she wants to be more strippeddown for her new music. So she ditches the fancy dresses for a uniform of Tshirts and jeans or shorts.

4.

Balancing act

She struggles to find balance in her life. When one part of the singer’s life is going well, another part is tanking. During filming, for example, she’s doing extremely well professionally — she just landed the Super Bowl gig, after all. But her engagement to Taylor Kinney has just ended, which is the latest in a trend: Every time her career hits a new high, her current romantic relationship falls apart.

5.

Always thinking

She cares about how her album is displayed in stores. At one point, Gaga goes to Walmart and complains about how few copies of Joanne are on display. So she takes matters into her own hands and rearranges things, placing a copy of her CD at the front of each row for maximum exposure. She even buys a couple of copies to take home. Hey, when you’re trying to hit No. 1, every sale counts.