Better Man Review: A Robbie Williams Monkey Biopic

Better Man portrays pop star Robbie Williams as a monkey in a story that, while littered with biopic clichés, wins you over with flash and flair.

With Robbie Williams himself guiding us via narration, the film follows him from his childhood relationship with his father (Steve Pemberton, of Match Point), his acceptance into the boy band Take That, his success as a solo artist, and – because this is a biopic of a musician – his struggles with addiction and mental health. Better Man also doubles as a musical, sprinkling in song-and-dance numbers to some of Williams’s hit songs, similarly to 2019’s Rocketman. 

Now, I’m an American, which means two things: I am terrified for the next four years, and I’ve had very little exposure to Robbie Williams, who is apparently huge everywhere else. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I really took the time to listen to most of his work and do a bit of digging on his life, but I really like what I’ve now heard! His tunes are pop-friendly without being generic, they’re often pretty personal, and he can shift genres like it’s nothing. I’ve even made his recent Christmas album a new holiday favorite of mine, because why not at this time of year?

However, I’m a bit more torn on my feelings for Better Man as a movie. My biggest fear was that it would follow a lot of the same familiar tropes of a few too many musician biopics, and that unfortunately turned out to be the case. Let’s make a list: you’ve got a childhood in which our future star is inspired by another musician and has a complicated relationship with a parent. You’ve got his unconventional style being scoffed at but winning over the musical powers that be. There’s his vision clashing with other bandmates, a drug addiction, a soured romance, a third-act confrontation of everyone he’s wronged or who’s wronged him, an eventual acceptance of himself, and an affirmation of that acceptance via some show-stopping concert at the end.

I’d say fill out your Bingo cards, but there’s no point when every square on every card is filled in. Everything I just listed happens in Better Man, and almost none of it is given a new spin on the page. Everything you could emotionally take out of this film’s story is something you’ve probably already taken from Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, Elvis, or countless other musician biopics you could name. Maybe others will be more accepting of this formula, but I’m frankly sick to death of it now. Had this been the first time I’d seen it done, I’d be moved to tears by Robbie Williams’s story. But regardless of how well it’s executed, that fatigue was always at the forefront of my mind while I was watching, and it made the whole experience frustrating because … well, the film is so remarkably good at pretty much everything else.

As clichéd as the story of Better Man is, not only is it done well, but it’s done creatively. The cinematography from Erik Wilson – who, as the kids say, went way harder than he had to with the Paddington movies – is an absolute sight to behold. The entire film is aglow in a grainy, gritty, but somehow otherworldly aesthetic, bridging the gap between shakily realistic and absurdly over-the-top. The song numbers are close to indescribable with their nonstop kinetic energy, dazzling lighting, and seamless transitions from one location to the next and back again. Of course, it helps that they’re set to Williams’s own great library of songs, not to mention the best dancing I’ve seen in a musical all year … and in the same year Wicked came out, that’s impressive.

In a manner that’s likely befitting of the presumed persona of Robbie Williams, Better Man is also blazingly fast in a lot of its big developments. You don’t go to this film for the in-depth details of how Williams achieved stardom, but rather to feel what it maybe felt like for him: feverishly paced with no room to stop and breathe, partially because he doesn’t allow himself to stop and breathe lest he actually think about why he’s chasing these dreams at all. The movie will slow down when it needs to, but it makes you feel the disorienting rush of such a tumultuous cycle of rises and falls throughout this span of Robbie’s life.

The performances are stellar across the board, even from characters with less screen time like Raechelle Banno as Nicole Appleton, Robbie’s main lover in the film. You may have seen this story before, but that doesn’t make it any less painful to watch the volatile, unfiltered breakdowns or emotional crises when they’re relentlessly flung in your face. Williams as the narrator is at the core of the film’s voice with his explicit, sarcastic, self-deprecating wit. Like the movie itself, he tells a story you’ve heard before in a very distinct way, and that irresistible sense of humor is also a huge strength of the actual dialogue. Jonno Davies shines by bringing that unique energy to the front of the camera, even under all that CGI.

And to address that elephant – or monkey – in the room, I ended up really liking the ape gimmick. The stated reason for it is to show Williams as the less-evolved person he sees himself to be, but I think it works because no matter what Williams does, he looks out of place … which he should. He’s always either not doing what he really wants with his career or covering up his own insecurities and inner fears. By sticking out like a sore thumb, it drills in your head that he does not fit there. And when he’s at his lowest points, the visual of him as an ape matches the primal beast that comes out from within. Plus, the effect itself is surprisingly really effective! It doesn’t look real 100% of the time, but I was amazed by not only how often it blends into the environments, but how often I wasn’t even thinking about the effect. I just straight-up saw this creature.

If there’s any movie this year that is unequivocally saved from the gutter by its presentation and filmmaking, it’s Better Man. At its core is a very stale rock-star story that adds no new insights into music culture nor the psychological causes and effects of superstardom. But that core is given such a thick, delicious, vibrant, sense-pleasing coating that the entire experience is made worthwhile. A lot of it is style over substance – though the substance would have been great had it not been so familiar – but that style is enough to freshen up the formula underneath. As much as I don’t want to encourage this same type of story being told over and over again, I can’t sit here and say I didn’t have a good time with Better Man. Just … please shake up the writing itself next time, or else I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.

Better Man will be released in select US theatres on December 25, 2024 and nationwide on January 10, 2025, and in UK & Irish cinemas on December 26, 2024. Read our list of underrated musical biopics!