'Better Man' Reviews: Robbie Williams Like You Have Never Seen Him Before

         On December 25, 2024, Paramount Pictures releases 'Better Man', which has earned predominantly positive reviews from critics, earning a score of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. "Better Man is based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams, one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Under the visionary direction of Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman), the film is uniquely told from Robbie's perspective, capturing his signature wit and indomitable spirit. It follows Robbie's journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist -- all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring." But what did the critics say?

       Will Mavity of Next Best Picture says, "Better Man” is probably (and hopefully) the closest we’ll ever get to a “Deadpool” musical. The Robbie Williams biopic is crass, meta, and self-aware, full of F-bombs, dick jokes, winking asides to the audience via narration, copious amounts of CGI, and even its share of graphic violence. And, just like Deadpool, it’s not nearly as groundbreaking as it thinks it is. Because, at the heart of “Better Man,” for all the tools it uses to earn its R-rating, it’s still yet another musician biopic following the rise/fall/redemption arc, complete with failed marriages, substance abuse, and daddy issues. This is one that just so happens to feature a CGI chimpanzee instead of Williams. Yes, you heard that correctly. Former Visual Effects Supervisor-turned-Director Michael Gracey (“The Greatest Showman“) collaborated with the visual effects team at Weta – who brought you Gollum and the “Avatar” aliens – to render Williams as a photorealistic CGI chimpanzee in every single scene. The chimpanzee progresses through the classic beats of a musician biopic otherwise. Williams grows up with a neglectful father, hustles his way into show business in large part to try and find the love and acceptance he was denied as a child, joins a band, finds success (and drugs), sets out on his own, has a rocky marriage, sees his substance abuse worsen and almost derail his career, confront his inner demons, and then perform a redemption performance. What makes “Better Man” stand out is, well, aside from the fact that there is a CGI chimpanzee in every scene, is that, whereas most musician biopics sanitize their subjects, Williams is depicted unrelentingly as an asshole – even from the very beginning. This film does not want to make you particularly like or even root for its subject. Williams’ narration feels like a cross between Deadpool and Ewan McGregor in “Trainspotting” and further hammers this home with constant jokes. An example is when Williams is getting a handjob and makes eye contact with his manager, quipping, “For once, Nigel wasn’t the biggest Wank in the room,” and says things like, “For legal reasons, I am required to tell you that X is a super nice person.” The quips are often low-hanging frat-type humor, but they sometimes land. However, they do little to endear Williams, who spends the majority of the movie brash and arrogant to the extreme, abusing every substance under the sun, cheating on his wife, and berating his friends."

       Gregory Ellwood of The Playlist notes, "As the screenplay, written by Gracey, Oliver Cole, and Simon Gleeson, unfurls predictably, the musical numbers do not. Many may have written “The Greatest Showman” off as a one-hit wonder for Gracey and given the songwriters and stars of that word-of-mouth blockbuster too much credit. With “Better Man,” Gracey proves he’s a visionary when it comes to crafting an engaging and, perhaps most importantly, surprising musical number. “Better Man” is essentially a jukebox musical, mostly featuring songs from Williams’ catalog even for the Take That sequences. One lengthy number finds the band dancing through the streets of London’s SoHo neighborhood to his 2000 hit “Rock DJ.” Sure, a plethora of visual effects are used to pull it off, but from the choreography to the cinematography to the production design to the visual framing, the number is an absolute knockout. It’s almost euphoric. And it’s not the only one. While the musical elements often take the movie to impressive artistic heights, it’s not just the storyline that ends up hindering “Better Man.” In theory, the idea to portray Williams as a CG monkey (physically captured by Jonno Davies and Williams himself as an adult), is a creative masterstroke. Perhaps for a short film or music video, this thematic choice would have a greater impact. As this 134-minute film unfolds, you simply tire of experiencing Williams being portrayed in this context. The visual effects work from WETA are superb, but the human element is increasingly absent. At some point during the film you just want the monkey to transform into the real Williams or an actor portraying him. You want someone real to bring Williams’ life story back to earth. Moreover, in the context of the film, the musical numbers would have been just as stellar without the monkey, perhaps even more so. It was a gutsy and admirable choice from Gracey to go in this direction, but it eventually just leaves you wanting."

Photo by Lynda Sanchez on Unsplash

        Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood Daily praises the film, stating, "Michael Gracey‘s wildly inventive musical biopic of superstar British entertainer Robbie Williams rolls the dice on a unique star casting decision to play Williams that separates it from every showbiz biopic that has come before. A CGI monkey (actor Jonno Davies) plays the singer in what is otherwise a recognizable cradle-to-comeback story so familiar to those who rise to the top, only to fall and rise again. This is the equivalent to casting Lassie to play Frank Sinatra. OK, maybe not that crazy, but close enough. So guess what? It really works, even if in America the subject of this major studio film (Paramount picked up the independently produced production) is not widely known, but an icon who has sold over 80 million albums across the rest of the globe, and was recently the subject of a four-part Netflix docu series." Concluding, "The use of Williams narrating, expletives and all, his own story never gets in the way and actually seems necessary so that after a while you forget the monkey gimmick and accept it willingly. Much of the credit here has to go to Davies, who may be CGI’d in the final product, but had to be convincing working opposite the humans in all the song and dance to dramatic moments. He doesn’t miss a beat. Gracey plays a lot of it in close-ups of his eyes, a haunting effect itself. Andy Serkis would approve. The large supporting cast is also quite fine, including a superb Pemberton in a key role as his father, and notably Raechelle Banno as a pop star romantically involved with Williams until a decision to have an abortion changes things. Veteran British actress Allison Steadman lends much needed warmth as Williams’ beloved Grandmother Betty, and Damon Herriman seems just right as manager Nigel Martin Smith."