Intentionally, the film is far more affecting that appearances might suggest.
A dramatization following the personal story of British pop singer Robbie Williams, his meteoric highs and crashing lows.
Directed by Michael Gracey (2017’s The Greatest Showman) and starring Kate Mulvany, Raechelle Banno, Steve Pemberton, and of course… Robbie Williams, the film turned heads for obvious reasons. Our lead performance, played by Jonno Davies, is fully motion-captured CGI of a chimpanzee. If audiences were hoping for a handsome man showing us Robbie Williams’s story… they are out of luck.
But as it turns out, the film is quite excellent.
As someone born in the mid-80s, I remember the rise of boy band Take That in the 90s. But I had no interest in them. The film Better Man actually hits the nail on the head early, with a character saying: “No one wants boy bands anymore, grunge is in.” I was a grunge kid.
So a lot of the story of Robbie Williams was a mystery to me. Only that he was in Take That. The band imploded. Then years later, Williams exploded back into the scene as a solo act. But even without the knowledge to back up my viewing experience, the film was still compelling and still, seemingly, genuine.
The monkey. From the outset, it appears to be a gimmick. With so many biographies (especially of musicians) lately, this could easily be dismissed as a crutch for a film without a story. Williams himself has said that audiences will quickly adjust to it, and you certainly do. With the visual effects developed by WETA (Planet of the Apes, The Lord of the Rings) the effects are in good hands. Indeed, by the film’s conclusion and during some of the most emotional scenes, you don’t see the monkey anymore. You see the person.
And it isn’t so much a gimmick, as it is an intrinsic part of Willaims’s story. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Better Man‘s story… is how honest it feels. Generally, creating a biopic before the person has passed away can lead to biases or sugar-coating reality. But here, Williams is not portrayed in a positive light. If anything, the screenplay wants us to see a flawed, desperate, and misguided individual. Thrown into the world with poor guiding principles from bygone eras, with the attitude of a diva.
The monkey isn’t a gimmick, the monkey is how Robbie Williams sees himself. Unevolved, stupid, but with the potential to become more.
Clocking in over two hours, it positively flies by. From his humble beginnings, glamourous rise, and tragic self-destruction. Big bursts of musical numbers (critically, all Williams music, even during the Take That tentpole moment) break up the dramatic scenes, and these are lavish and flashy. There’s a duet dance on a boat that puts Disney’s live action Beauty and the Beast to shame. Of course, all of the singer’s best songs are here. Sure to send any fans head over heels.
There is real darkness in this film as well. Gracey and Williams clearly not wanting to shy away from the realities that some big celebrities go through. This unpleasantness comes through not just through drug-use, but through nightmarish, hallucinated imagery. Again, it might be a monkey, but you start to not see the monkey.
The performances are all excellent as well, with the casting choices being on point. Chris Gun as rival Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher was a highlight. There are moments of levity like this, sprinkled throughout. Usually through Williams’s own roguish or childish antics towards others.
As someone who didn’t know the life, or even much of the music to be fair, of Robbie Williams, the film was a success. It is clearly from an individual who reflects on their life in honesty, and has disquiet about the industry he lived through. The fact that the film ends with a suicide hotline notation speaks volumes.
So if you are a fan and were put off by the monkey, don’t be. If you know nothing about the character or the man, give it a go if you are interested. It certainly surprised me.
