Review: Better Man

There's no real explanation as to why Robbie Williams appears in this biopic as a monkey. There's a suggestion that it's a metaphor for how he sees himself; as he begins his traditional pop star downward spiral he's constantly seeing angry versions of his chimp self taunting and threatening him. But as far as explanations go, "it makes Better Man a better film" is pretty much all you need.

For one thing - and it's a pretty big thing - having Williams as a monkey (the motion capture performance is by Jonno Davies, with Williams providing his own voice) instantly makes what is otherwise a firmly standard music biopic (rise, fall, rise again) seem fresh. 

(it also dodges the bullet that comes with casting a look-alike: the monkey version here is clearly just a stand-in for the real thing, even if at times they do look very much alike)

Just about everything here is something you've seen before, even if it's all true: wanting to impress a distant dad (Steve Pemberton), dealing with with a dodgy manager (Damon Harriman) and Take That bandmates who sour on him, solo success followed by a downward spiral into drugs and relationship failure just seems that much more interesting when it's a CGI chimp dealing with it.

That's not to say it's a bad biopic, just a generic one. There are occasional flashes of personality here and there where Williams introduces (then dismisses) elements of his past he's not going to fully explore - rumours about his sexuality, rumours about his relationship with his long-term (musical) partner. But mostly this is a story you've heard before, even if you know nothing about Williams the man or the musician.

More interestingly, having a CGI lead frees director Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) to go big with the musical numbers. They never quite shade into full-blown fantasy, but the editing and dance moves have a computer-assisted energy that boosts them well above the norm. 

It helps that Williams has had a string of legit hits (despite what the befuddled US reviews claim - who knew music was popular outside the continental USA?), giving the best numbers here a pop energy that most recent musical adaptations struggle to deliver. An euphoric street sequence at the height of Williams' Take That fame set to 'Rock DJ' is easily the high energy dance number of the cinematic season, and is worth the admission price on its own.

The result - flashy, brash, cheeky at times but rarely surprising - feels like it captures something authentic about Williams. He's a solid entertainer (as he puts it himself) who delivers the goods, and if those goods might not have anything all that original about them... well, being a good salesman is better than nothing.

- Anthony Morris