What’s It About

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.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

“Better Man” takes a really wild swing at telling Robbie Williams’ story – instead of your typical music biopic, the singer appears as a digital monkey throughout the entire film. When Williams explains this choice in the opening voiceover, it actually makes sense – he saw himself as nothing more than a trained performer, putting on a show for everyone else’s entertainment. It’s weird, but somehow it works. The movie tracks Williams from his humble beginnings as a soccer-playing kid in England through his meteoric rise with boy band Take That and into his roller-coaster solo career. Like most music biopics, we get the standard package of family drama (especially daddy issues), the intoxicating rush of fame, and the inevitable spiral into substance abuse. His father, Peter, played by Steve Pemberton, is a failed entertainer who lives out his dreams through young Robbie, constantly pushing him toward the spotlight. Meanwhile, his mom Janet (Kate Mulvany), and grandmother, Betty (Alison Steadman), try their best to keep his feet on the ground – though we all know how that turns out. The film finds its groove around the 40-minute mark when Robbie faces getting booted from Take That. Instead of taking this career crisis seriously, he turns it into another performance – which is exactly what you’d expect from Williams. There’s this absolutely bonkers sequence where he performs “Rock DJ” while bouncing through London’s Regent Street, and it’s genuinely spectacular. Things get even more interesting when Robbie literally battles different versions of his pop star persona, all while wrestling with drug addiction and his massive ego. His relationship with Nicole Appleton (Raechelle Banno) from All Saints adds another layer to his story, though some of their romantic scenes could’ve been filmed better. The whole monkey angle might seem ridiculous on paper, but actor Jonno Davis pulls it off with movements that walk the line between human and animal. While he’s no Andy Serkis from Planet of the Apes (who is?), he makes the character believable. Williams himself is a real asset to the film, lending all of his vocal magic, as well as throwing out clever commentaries and deeply affecting his character’s struggles. Compelling, too, is his new song “Forbidden Road,” which might fit in on the soundtrack. The visual style of the film is interesting-it all has this faux- grainy feel, and even the brightest scenes seem somewhat washed out, which really grounds the film despite its crazy premise. The flashbacks, which tend to ruin a film for me, actually work surprisingly well here. They show how the present can feel emptier and lonelier compared to even the messy past, which hits home for anyone who’s ever looked back at their life with rose-tinted glasses. While the family scenes sometimes lay the emotion on pretty thick, especially toward the end, there’s something weirdly compelling about watching a digital chimp party hard, fight his inner demons, and struggle with the pressures of fame. The movie works best if you approach it as a story about learning to accept yourself rather than just another famous-person-overcomes-obstacles tale. Even if you’ve never heard of Robbie Williams (which, let’s be honest, most Americans haven’t), it’s a fascinating take on fame, self-worth, and the price of entertainment. What makes “Better Man” stand out is how it deals with self-loathing and loss in a way that most films try to rush past. Sure, we know Williams makes it through (he’s still performing and doing well today), but the movie makes you feel like that happy ending wasn’t guaranteed. It shows how sometimes the energy of spite and revenge can keep you going when nothing else will, and how performing can be both a shield and a trap. It’s definitely not a perfect movie – it stumbles here and there, and some of the artistic choices might leave you scratching your head. But it’s never boring, and that’s worth something. In a world full of cookie-cutter music biopics, “Better Man” dares to be different, monkey business and all. It might be the weirdest music biopic ever made, but that’s exactly what makes it worth checking out.

OUR RATING – A PRIMITIVE 8

MEDIA

• Genre – Bio-Pic
• Street date
• Digital – February 11, 2025
• Blu-Ray/DVD – ‎ May 13, 2025
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size 2.39:1
• Sound – English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio descriptive
• Subtitles – English, English SDH, French, Spanish

Extras

• Let Me Entertain You: The Making of Better Man — Director Michael Gracey and star Robbie Williams provide an in-depth look behind the vision and production of the film with additional insight from the cast and crew.
• Monkey Business: The VFX — Meet the visual effects team of W?t? FX as they delve into the process of using cutting-edge technology to bring Better Man to life.
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature