Like many Americans, I had no idea who UK pop star Robbie Williams was when I walked into Better Man. All I saw in the trailers was a monkey dancing and singing. Unlike my fellow compatriots however, I feel I’m uniquely qualified to review this movie, as I also have zero knowledge of American pop music. I still don’t know a single Hamilton song and I never saw the play. I also didn’t know Bohemian Rhapsody existed until 2016. Now, first off, I am not bragging or acting like I’m better than everyone. Let me explain myself. When Hamilton came out, Fetty Wap was at his peak, dropping “Trap Queen,” “679,” and “My Way.” Why would I listen to Hamilton when Fetty Wap was at his peak? And Apple Music came out that same year and, yeah, sorry, but Cherry Bomb dropped that year, and so did To Pimp a Butterfly, DS2, B4.DA.$$, At.Long.Last.A$AP, Rodeo, Slime Season 1, GO:OD AM, Summertime 06, Beauty Behind the Madness, SremmLife, AND I Don’t Like Shit I Don’t Go Outside. 2015 was a great year for music and I just had better things to do. Forget my Spanish 2 Class.
Anyways, Robbie Williams was a part of a boy band called Take That, and he was known as the bad boy of the group who went out partying and getting into trouble and whatnot. He subsequently got kicked off the band, and scrambled into a solo career that led him to national stardom (notice I didn’t say international stardom, because no one in the US knows him). The best American equivalent I can think of is Justin Timberlake, but he was more known as the pretty one in the group and didn’t get into trouble like that (until recently). Maybe Billy Corgan or John Dolmayan from System of a Down serves as a better example, but Billy was just rude. John’s also just crazy, but dammit, that man can drum. Both created great music and had very famous bands, but can the same can be said for Robbie Williams in Better Man?
Better Man follows the life and career of Robbie Williams, from his childhood to his career as a pop star and everything that came with his fame. Directed by Michael Gracey, a director famous for his work on The Greatest Showman and Rocketman, Better Man carries over the theatrical and captivating motifs of those movies. Michael Gracey does a great job at creating musicals that seem larger than life and glamorous. I love his style’s consistency. From kid Robbie singing in his childhood flat or him performing in front of a hundred thousand people, Gracey keeps the same style in all the musical numbers, no matter what state the character is in. The juxtaposition between Gracey’s glamorous style full of flashing lights, to the protagonist undergoing a personal crisis, gets you uniquely engaged with the movie.
I should address probably the monkey in the room. Yes, Robbie Williams plays himself as a CGI monkey. The movie actually addresses this within the opening scenes, as Robbie explains he’s always felt like an outsider and wanted to express how he felt throughout his life. The monkey serves as a symbol for the insecurity he’s felt throughout his life. You start to go along with it as the movie goes on. Although that scene where he has sex feels pretty awkward. But anyone who passed 8th grade English class can follow along with the symbolism, especially since it’s addressed outright. So how is the actual movie? Honestly, it’s better than you’d expect.
The film follows Robbie growing up from a shy little monkey to a rebellious teenager, just trying to find his place in the world. You meet his dad, who introduces Robbie to great performers of the past like Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., but he abruptly abandons Robbie, his mum, and grannie to find success as a singer in London. Robbie later auditions for Take That, and through his charm and moxie, lands a spot in the band. You then see Robbie slowly spiral into alcoholism and drug addiction, becoming more self-centered and insecure as the movie goes on. His only real connections lie with his grannie and mum, but through his selfish desire to constantly prove himself, he pushes away his family, and his fiancé Nicole Appleton (Raechelle Banno).
Throughout the movie, Robbie makes these fourth wall interjections that are akin to Family Guy cutaways where he’ll give a cheeky joke about the scene or give context. I bring this up because they happen a couple times. Sometimes they work, like when they show Robbie and Nicole’s relationship, but they also can interrupt tension in certain scenes, and you get taken out of the experience. For example, when engaged in a heated arguments, Robbie interjects, and it cuts to at the BRIT awards when he drunkenly challenging Liam Gallagher to a fight. Despite the hit or miss interjections, they do give this movie a lot of personality. Whether or not it works to the movie’s benefit depends on the scene you’re watching.
Despite its occasionally silly turns, the movie very much wears its heart on its sleeve. You get to witness Robbie’s self-doubt and inner turmoil on the screen, as in the scene when Robbie gets kicked out the band. It shows Robbie speeding down a dark and rainy road, horns blasting, fans raving, the music blaring as he reminisces on his past mistakes and catches a glimpse of his past selves staring back at him with strong condemnation. Robbie then crashes into a lake, where he swims to the surface, only to find it frozen. He’s surrounded by fans swimming like piranhas around him, getting closer and closer to its prey until the ice breaks, and he’s dumped into the next scene. Another great piece depicting Robbie’s inner state is his Knebworth performance. At this point in the movie, he’s at his absolute lowest, having selfishly burnt any close connections with him. He’s slugging around the room, barely finding the strength to do a line of coke. At this point in the movie, with how invested I was, seeing a monkey fiend for cocaine and becoming utterly decrepit until he does a rail whereupon he proceeds to tear his house down was not as funny as I thought it’d be. He goes on at Knebworth to perform, and as he steps onto the stage he envisions all his past selves antagonizing him. He goes into the crowd and murders all of his past selves – including one that I won’t spoil – but it leaves Robbie at rock bottom.
This movie is incredibly personal, poignant, and so open. You have to applaud Robbie Williams for not only his performance in the movie, but his willingness to let us to peer into his inner turmoil and be this honest about himself. While I didn’t care for much of the acting, Robbie puts on an amazing performance, monkey and all. The CGI department also needs credit as they managed to capture all Robbie’s subtle emotions, and how they come across in monkey mode. Raechelle Banno and Steve Pemberton are the only other notable performances in the movie. For a movie about Robbie’s personal connections, I found the other actors to be forgettable. Had Robbie not been a monkey, I think the movie would pack much less of a punch. The device, established from his childhood, runs for the entire duration. It makes sense in the context of Robbie’s thoughts and life, and it works for this movie. I chose to review this movie, thinking it’d be like Cats or The Hobbit-level bad, but this movie surprised me with its depth of character, deeply personal nature, and sheer creative spirit. While everyone apart from Robbie, Raechelle, and Steve, was pretty flat, the best actors were the closest relationships that Robbie had, which does hold some degree to me. The songs were good, the plot engaging, and lighting and sets were bright and full of life. Overall, pretty good movie. I have become so jaded that the monkey movie moved me.
8/10.
F*ck Oasis.
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