A Robbie William biopic you’ll go ape over.
As we begin to watch “Better Man,” we wonder if somebody is going to ask: “Why is Robbie Williams a chimp?” and “Can anybody explain this?.” In the trailers, he mentions that he has always seen himself as “less evolved.” And that’s why we see him like this for the rest of the film. Williams voices himself, while Jonno Davies portrays him as both a youngster and his simian adult self through motion capture and CGI. So, I guess we have another CGI ape movie like the latest “Planet of the Apes” movies.
We see him through various stages in his life, including his short collaboration with the pop band Take That, his small romance with All Saints star Nicole Appleton (Raechelle Banno), his depression, his drug abuse, and his relationship with his family, which consists of his mother Janet (Kate Mulvany) his grandmother Betty (Alison Steadman), and in particular, his absent father Peter (Steve Pemberton).
The old man has left home to become a comedian and singer, and Robbie gets to visit him every now and then. We see them sharing their passion for Rat Pack music, but we also see the pathos within their relationship.
And throughout this movie and all his concerts, we see Robbie seeing negative versions of himself basically telling him that he’ll never amount to anything. It becomes repetitive for me, but I know this is a real case of self doubt. And it manifests into big problems for the singer. But the best use of his negative versions comes at a certain time, which I can’t reveal to you, but I can inform you it’s original.
“Better Man” was directed by Michael Gracey, who is best known for directing “The Greatest Showman.” Granted that film had its critics who disliked its story and artistic license, but I still thought it was a high-spirited movie with the right kind of energy. His latest film allows Williams to remind us about a different side to him, not just as an ape, but also as a broken man who eventually finds his way again.
I came across an article that questioned on why the small release of the film isn’t really connecting with American movie-goers. One of the reasons was that a majority of them don’t know who the singer is. There’s a lot for one movie goer to take in, especially with the chimpanzee look. But here is my response. I haven’t listened to every one of his songs and I don’t know much about him, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to learn and acknowledge his life. In fact, I had a fun time watching Williams represent himself through his best and worst times.
Unless you watch a trailer or if you are a die hard Robbie Williams fan or if you American know who is, you’re definitely going to have questions about his ape appearance as you watch the film. But you might not. In fact, he’s much better looking as an ape than James Corden and Judi Dench were as felines in “Cats.” I like how he looks when he drinks, snorts cocaine, and dances with Take That, but I also admire the personality Williams puts in himself. And equally excellent work also comes from Davies, either his younger self or in the motion capture suit.
The better music biopic out in theaters right now is “A Complete Unknown” with Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan. That film was a bit more patient and less repetitive about the singer’s life. But “A Better Man” is still a wildly entertaining movie that knows and loves Robbie Williams.
Now Playing in Select Theaters
