Better Man Review

2024 has been the year of musical biopics, with acts ranging from Pharrell Williams to Bob Marley to Amy Winehouse getting movies about their lives. The year closed with an audacious biopic about the British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams.

As a child, Robert Williams had a flair for showmanship and cheekiness. The young Northern Lad dreams of becoming a star and gets an opportunity when a boy band is formed. As his fame grows, so does Williams’ dependence on drugs and alcohol and his growing depression.

Musical biopics have been ever-present in cinemas. I have reviewed plenty of them. Sadly, many have been a formulaic trap. They often tell a story of a musical protégé whose talents are discovered at a young age, gets used or abused by someone close to them, and suffers from substance abuse of some sort. These films tend to be functional but formulaic. However, Better Man was able to stand out.

Better Man made an obvious impression by portraying Robbie Williams as a chimpanzee. It was a gimmick but it worked and looked impressive. Weta worked on the visual effects and they have plenty of experience creating CGI apes since they have worked on the Planet of the Apes films. It acted as a workaround for Williams to perform in the film. Williams shared the voice role with Jonno Davies and Adam Tucker, and Davies did the motion capture.

Whilst the CGI chimpanzee was a hook, Better Man ensured it engaged audiences with its style and story. Comparatively, Better Man was close to Rocketman, the Elton John biopic. Both films were musicals that used their artists’ back catalogue as musical numbers. Better Man’s use of the song “Feel” was similar to how Rocketman used “I Want Love” since they were both turned into songs about children wanting to be loved and have attention from their fathers.

Better Man and Rocketman were both directed by men with experience with musicals. Better Man was directed by Michael Gracey, known for making The Greatest Showman and he knows how to make a terrific musical sequence. “She’s the One” was turned into a duet with Nicole Appleton (Raechelle Banno) and showed the highs and lows of their relationship. “Rock DJ” was used as a big song-and-dance number with Take That dancing around Regent Street in London.

The final way Better Man and Rocketman were comparable was the involvement of their subject matter. Rocketman was produced by Elton John and Better Man had Williams providing his singing voice. Both films were willing to show John and Williams in a negative light at times since they partook in drug taking, partying, and in Robbie’s case, womanising. Williams was an arse to Appleton and his friend from Stoke.

While Better Man had the trappings of a standard music biopic, it used those tropes for a character study. Williams had depression and it plagued him throughout his adult life. He used prescription drugs, hard drugs, and alcohol to cope yet he needed to face his issues. He constantly suffered from self-doubt and saw himself when he performed with constant criticism. The “Let Me Entertain You” sequence was a fantastic combination of music, visual effects, and themes since Williams had to face his demons which looked like a Planet of the Apes-themed music video. A small, yet telling scene was when Williams’ dad (Steve Pemberton) saw his son’s Prozac pills and asked what he had to be unhappy about.

Better Man had a lot of dramatic and story threads throughout and Gracey, the screenwriting team, and the editing team (Better Man had surprisingly a lot of editors) did a great job tying them together. There was the artistic goal where Williams first wanted to be a success and be in the limelight, then wanting artistic creditability, and finally realising he needed to perform for himself. In the background was the shadow of Knebworth House, leading to Williams setting himself the goal to perform there. There was also his relationship with Appleton and Liam Gallagher (Leo Harvey-Elledge) with Williams wanting to befriend Oasis but it led to a cruel twist of fate.

Better Man was a high-risk film that deserved to gain cult status, at the very least. It was an emotionally charged, sincere character study that was also an entertaining musical.