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The arrival of \u201cStormy,\u201d a new documentary on Peacock<\/a>, is timely. In several weeks, former President Donald J. Trump is scheduled to go on trial in a case in which he\u2019s accused of covering up a 2016 payment to the pornographic film star known as Stormy Daniels<\/a>. (The trial was originally supposed to start in late March, but has now been delayed until at least mid-April<\/a>.)<\/p>\n The documentary uses interviews and observational footage to recount the legal saga from Daniels\u2019s perspective. It begins with the requisite accounts of her upbringing, her introduction to the sex industry and the 2006 tryst she says she had with Trump. \u201cStormy\u201d then pivots to the period after the story of Daniels\u2019s allegation of a sexual encounter with Trump was made public<\/a>, tracing how the sudden fame and frenzy upended her personal life.<\/p>\n After so much media coverage, certain details of the events feel overly familiar. But the director, Sarah Gibson, is often able to put the episodes into fresh contexts. Take the rise and fall of Michael Avenatti, Daniels\u2019s onetime lawyer, who in 2022 was convicted<\/a> of stealing from her: Rather than merely rehashing Avenatti\u2019s offenses, Gibson positions him amid a wave of supposed male allies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n These men go on to betray Daniels in ways that range from vexing to existential. And in a startling twist, some of the film\u2019s footage comes from another documentary \u2014 never released \u2014 whose director became briefly involved with Daniels while shooting.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not that special. I feel like a hypocrite,\u201d Daniels says in one scene, considering her newfound status as a liberal luminary while preparing for a strip club performance. The sentiment gestures at complex questions about misogyny, female power and sexual agency. \u201cStormy\u201d wisely lets these issues linger rather than tying a bow over them.<\/p>\n Stormy<\/strong>
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes. Watch on Peacock.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n