Better Man: The Must-See Robbie Williams Biopic That Redefines Musical Cinema

This year turned out to be the year of musicals with Wicked, A Complete Unknown, Emilia Perez, Joker: Folie a Deux, Mean Girls and Back to Black—to name a few. But despite some big swings this year, none hit the ball out of the park quite as far as The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey has with the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man.

Better Man, releasing in select theaters Christmas Day and everywhere January 17th, is an electrifying and unapologetic whirlwind exploding with charm, heart and the sort of musical numbers that’ll have you jamming in your car the whole way home (not to make this personal or anything).

The film follows the life of musical pop sensation Robbie Williams who rose to fame in the UK during the 90s. Without giving too much away, Williams found his start in the industry after joining the popular boy band Take That. Unfortunately, along his rapid rise to the top, it seems he brought his childhood demons on up with him. Often known as the bad boy of the group due to his rebellious personality, Williams eventually left the band and embarked on an isolating and tumultuous journey of love, loss and self discovery.

Granted, we’ve seen this formula in biopics before. Many times. The story of an artist who comes from nothing suddenly catapulted into fame… buckling under the pressure of the industry while living in the public eye… abusing substances, alcohol and important relationships in an effort to battle the crippling doubts, insecurities and loneliness. However, this film approaches the same subject matter we’ve seen in a freshly charming way that’ll have audiences who’ve never heard of Robbie Williams falling for him after the first frame.

When the trailer for this biopic dropped, most people’s first question was: why is Williams being depicted by a monkey? The fact of the matter is, Better Man plays a lot with the paradigms of surrealism and visual metaphor—which was one of our favourite creative aspects of the film. The filmmakers credit this decision to two things—the first being that Robbie Williams sees himself differently than how the world does. He is singular, alone in his uniqueness, separate and eternally different from other people in the world. Therefore, the monkey represents how Williams has always seen himself. To go further, Williams has spent his career feeling like a dancing monkey, performing and existing solely to entertain audiences around the country.

Though, you won’t even notice Williams is played by a CGI monkey. Jonno Davies does such an incredible job humanizing Williams that once the first scene is over, you’ll forget that you’re looking at a chimp. It’s one of the bigger risks we’ve seen in a biopic maybe ever—but we are firm believers this film wouldn’t be as epic without this particular choice.

We’re excited to say this is one of the best musicals we’ve seen this year—maybe ever! It has so much energy, so much emotion, so much substance and depth. It is so raw and genuine and it doesn’t hide anything from us. It doesn’t idolize Williams or paint him as some infallible figure or icon, the way Mangold often portrays Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. The film humanizes Williams—despite the fact that he’s played by a monkey. But audiences will truly understand and feel for him, which should be the goal of any biography.

This is a tragically real story with ups and downs, yet it doesn’t lose itself in the glamour of its own prestige. It is a grounded and honest exploration of the human experience, despite Williams’ monumental fame. In films of this nature, we can often feel disconnected from the main character because we’re often placed in the seat of the audience. We only really get what the artist is willing to reveal to us. But in proper Robbie Williams fashion, this movie truly bares it all. Like Williams, this story is admirable in its fearlessness in the face of such adversity.

This is truly a triumph for Michael Gracey, Robbie Williams and everyone else involved in the production. It’s a perfect holiday watch and we’ll be looking forward to seeing this film collecting its well deserved accolades come awards season!

Watch the trailer for Better Man below

BETTER MAN IS ONLY IN SELECT THEATRES ON DECEMBER 25, 2024 (TORONTO) AND NATIONWIDE ON JANUARY 10, 2025

[Review by guest blogger Jurgen Sosa]