By Matthew Moorcroft

Strong Recommendation

• Directed by Michael Gracey
• Starring Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Raechelle Banno
• R

Like a lot of non-European folks, I was mostly unfamiliar with Robbie Williams prior to this film, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. While Take That was a musical staple in the UK, their success never truly translated to the US, and because of that despite Robbie Williams being one of the most successful UK artists in history, it’s a clear example of cultural divides in action; how one person can be completely unknown and alien to somebody just around the bend.

Weirdly, this makes Better Man, his new pseudo-biopic, pseudo-tell all, pseudo-therapy session all the stranger and interesting. This lack of connection to his music or personal life – which after quick research was as hectic as it was filled to the brim with controversy and antics – means Better Man‘s ability to stand on it’s own as a movie is apparent.

The real success of the film, strangely, comes from the decision to portray Williams himself as a CG monkey not unlike the work on the Planet of the Apes films. Indeed, WETA themselves worked on this, and the work on Robbie himself is basically seamless and some of the best VFX of the past couple of years; at certain points you almost forget that you are watching a CG monkey and instead feel like you are looking at Williams laid bare like how he wants you to see him. Which, ultimately, precisely the point. Williams has gone on record discussing how he views himself as “less evolved” due to his stunted maturity (or at least that’s what he personally thinks) and that separation allows for Better Man to also lean into the surreal and metaphorical.

Taking cues from the equally as fantastic Rocketman, Better Man is honest, raw, and self-reflective in a way most biopics tend to avoid. Instead of sanitizing the material, at points you start to think Better Man is too hard on Williams, until you mostly realize that this is how Williams wants to be portrayed – the warts and all, a man so ego-centered and arrogant that it takes rock bottom for him to realize that being a “better man” is simply just listening to the people around you. Instead of laughing at the monkey doing cocaine, you are completely floored by the simple revelation of a stunted pop star missing out on his grandma passing away, or being unable to form meaningful connections anymore. Michael Gracey’s usage of film grain – and the colorful yet grounded cinematography – gives layers of texture to the piece, keeping the otherwise somewhat fantastical tale in reality.

Gracey also brings his excellent musical expertise over from The Greatest Showman in the show stopping musical numbers, which are just sublime and the real highlight of the picture. While the “Rock DJ” sequence has been wandering around social media for good reason, every sequence in this is golden. Gracey has a clear visual eye for composition and choreography, and the numerous long takes – as well as being unafraid to use the visual medium as it was intended for – means each sequence pops on the same level of a high quality music video. Not everyone is as bombastic as “Rock DJ” or the equally as transcendent “Come Undone”, but all of them are used effectively and build to a fantastic crescendo.

This energy is throughout the entire film though, and it ends up being as electrifying as the best live concerts. Williams says at the end of the film that he was born to be an entertainer first and foremost, and that extends to this film as well, which beyond being honest in it’s emotional beats as simply wants to be a hell of a good time, and a hell of a good time at a theater it is.

It’s a shame that Better Man, with as bold as it is and as unique as it is, is destined for cult status only as it deserves far more. It’s emotional honesty is shocking, it’s conceit never becomes too distracting or gimmicky, and the performances across the board are fantastic. A nice surprise for 2024 in film, and one of the best music biopics of the last decade. Must watch!