Movie Review: 'Better Man' A Surprisingly Great Biopic

Better Man

Directed by Michael Gracey

Written by Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, Michael Gracey

Starring Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Alison Steadman

Release Date December 25th, 2024

Published December 19th, 2024

While many are praising the new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, another music biopic has my attention, one I never imagined would be as good as it is. Better Man tells the story of English pop star Robbie Williams and it’s the biggest surprise of 2024, for me anyway. I had no real expectations for Better Man. I am only vaguely aware of Robbie Williams, mostly via his reputation as a troubled celebrity. When I heard a movie was being made of his life I was a little puzzled, Robbie Williams doesn’t appear to have the kind of global celebrity that one expects of someone who gets a movie made about their life.

And then the trailer for Better Man dropped and I was even more perplexed. Instead of an actor portraying Williams or Willams appearing as himself, a CGI Chimpanzee stood in place of the pop star. To say this peaked my skepticism is an understatement, the film looked like a deeply unserious bit of nonsense and a potential disaster. I’m so happy to have been proven wrong. Better Man takes the bizarre concept of a CGI chimp leading man and turns into a genuinely poignant metaphor for the self loathing, anxiety, and fear concealed behind the pop star bravado of Robbie Williams.

Robbie Williams was born on February 13th, 1974. He grew up loving music and often singing with his crooner loving dad, Peter (Steve Pemberton), cheered on by his grandmother, Betty (Alison Steadman), all while his mother, Karen (Kate Mulvan,y) worked to keep the family afloat. Williams fell in love with The Rat Pack, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr, mostly because they were his father’s favorite singers. When Robbie’s dad left his family to become a lounge singer himself, Robbie was devastated. It created the first of a series of lifelong wounds.

Eventually, as a teenager, getting into various forms of trouble, Robbie pursued music and caught the attention of pop impresario, Nigel Martin Smith (Damon Herriman). Smith invited the rebellious and charismatic Robbie to be part of a boy band called Take That and, for a time, Robbie saw a great deal of success. As an American, I was confused to hear that Williams was in Take That, I’d only heard of their one American hit, Back for Good, I had no idea he was on that song and, he's really only on backing vocals, if featured at all. Robbie was soon kicked out of Take That.

Robbie’s womanizing and alcoholism, along with his obvious dissatisfaction with the safe, bubblegum pop of Take That, still didn’t make the break up easy. But, left with only his talent for songwriting and a desperate desire to stick it to the people who didn’t believe in him, Williams set his path toward becoming a solo star and it worked. Though broke and still living with his mom and grandmother, despite having been part of a very successful band, Robbie cobbled together some studio time, wrote some songs and parlayed his Take That fame for a shot at glory.

It helped that just as he was setting his solo path, Robbie met and fell in love with fellow English pop star, Nicole Appleton (Raechelle Banno). Their torrid, tabloid friendly romance helped keep Robbie’s name in the press while he prepped his first solo record. All the while, the drinking, the womanizing and drugs were the fuel he needed to pull himself on stage each night. What no one knew was that Robbie Williams, the cocksure showman, was actually terrified of the stage. Williams suffered from severe anxiety that he believed could only be cured by excessive alcohol and debauchery.

The film depicts Williams’ anxiety via that Chimp gimmick I mentioned. Williams, plays himself, his voice anyway, as a gorilla and narrates the film in a wonderfully funny and candid voiceover. The chimpanzee represents how Robbie saw himself as an animal, something less than human. He feared that people saw him that way and he used drugs and alcohol to mask the fear that he was just some dumb beast. Throughout the film, especially while he’s performing, other Chimps appear in the crowd acting as visual signifiers of the angry beast he’s trying to tame in his own mind.

That sounds very dramatic and it is dramatically compelling but I don’t want to give the impression that Better Man is a full on drama. Rather, much of Better Man is a rye, raw and raucous. Robbie Williams, in voiceover holds nothing back taking the piss out of himself and the music industry star factory. Much of the movie is spent being self-flagellating and darkly funny about the many times Robbie drank himself into oblivion, missed important things in his family, and generally worked toward ruining his own life. As the film progresses however, I was shocked to find myself moved by the film’s portrayal of Williams’ deep seated angst and self loathing.

If you think you don’t like Robbie Williams, well, Robbie Williams wasn’t a big fan of Robbie Williams either. Don’t be mistaken, he was dedicated to his career, he was a dynamic performer, and a prolific songwriter. But that talent came at the expense of everything else in his life. Williams, now clean and sober, has a clear-eyed view of his personal demons and views the emptiness of his personal life, the lack of close friends, disappointed family, and relationships he neglected in his pursuit of fame and he’s rather disgusted with himself. Then there is his relationship with his father, Peter, a reflection of everything lacking in his own life. Robbie’s not interested in laying all the blame on Peter but he does hold his dad and himself accountable in ways that deepen the themes and the dark humor of Better Man.

Directed by Michael Gracey, his follow up to his blockbuster debut feature, The Greatest Showman, Better Man is glitzy, exciting, and exceptionally crafted. The Chimp version of Robbie Williams is remarkably well realized. The character stands out in every scene, as it’s intended to, but is genuinely delightful to watch Chimp Robbie interact with other characters and feel right at home. The look and feel of Better Man is heightened in just a way that the uncanny Chimp effect never comes off as ugly or gummy as so many fully CGI characters do. Williams’ voice somehow feels natural coming out of this CGI creation and that the Chimp is well employed as a storytelling device speaks to the daring success that is Better Man.

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