As the lights dimmed for the fourth secret screening at this year's Fantastic Fest, an entire audience of mostly oblivious Americans had no idea they were about to embark on a two-and-a-half-hour saga through the life of one of the United Kingdom's biggest pop stars of all time. Leaving the screening, many audience members were baffled, some were infuriated, and more than a few came away already hitting download on a Take That Essentials playlist on Apple Music. Loved or hated, one thing's for sure – Better Man got people talking.
From The Greatest Showman's Michael Gracey, Better Man follows the story of Robbie Williams, a name that'll thankfully need no introduction to British audiences. What sets Better Man aside from the slate of forgettable, Oscar-bait popstar biopics is that Williams is played by a CGI ape. Silly as it may sound, this decision will make perfect sense to anyone who witnessed Williams' ascent to stardom – and subsequent path to self-destruction – in real time during the 2000s.
Williams' irresistible charm and lovable persona are palpable even behind the hairy monkey visage, a testament to the excellent mo-cap performance from Jonno Davies who also provides Williams' speaking voice. Thankfully, unlike a certain ill-advised biopic of another British musical legend that came out this year, Davies does not attempt to mimic Williams' distinctive lounge-singer-cum-cheeky-chappy vocals, and Williams himself hits the booth to do his songs justice. Perhaps obviously in the story of a man who topped the UK charts for years, Better Man's greatest strengths are its musical numbers, with the expertly choreographed Regent Street-set group performance of Rock DJ so irresistibly showstopping, it'll convert even Williams-naysayers. Another of his most iconic hits, Let Me Entertain You, sets the scene for what may well be one of the most violent and action-packed set pieces of 2024, as Williams hits the stage at Knebworth for what was at the time the UK's biggest ever music event, and takes down his demons, gladiator-style, in an arena full of almost 400,000 rabid fans.
However, there's no denying that once the novelty of the central simian gimmick wears off, Better Man doesn't really have a whole lot to offer that hasn't been done to death in every other self-serving popstar biopic. It's all fun and games at first, but something about watching a CGI ape navigate the real-life sadness of his then-girlfriend Nicole Appleton's (Raechelle Banno) abortion to an even sicklier iteration of Williams' first dance classic She's the One feels distinctly uncomfortable. As Williams moves through the various trials and tribulations that come with being a national superstar, viewers are reminded of his vulnerability, having been bought into the band – and, subsequently, a lifestyle of unfettered access to drugs, booze and sex – when he was just 16 years old.
Unlike the surface-level explorations of Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocket Man, Better Man offers viewers a little more in the way of a deeper understanding of its subject past just a cursory reading of their Wikipedia page. Williams and Gracey have left nothing off the table, admirable at times when other biopics seem to sugarcoat or overly demonise the realities of celebrity life and addiction. It's evident that Better Man was a healing and cathartic process for Williams but, for his audience? Not so much. While all biopics created with their subject directly involved are arguably, and understandably, inherently self-indulgent, Better Man also has the added injury of coming with all the subtlety you might expect from a movie headlined by a CGI ape. After the fifth scene of Williams being heckled and jeered by the spectres of his past, you'll be left frustrated that you're the one apparently footing the bill for his long-overdue extended therapy session. The dynamic between Williams and his father Peter (Steve Pemberton) feels particularly bizarre, as we watch Peter depicted as a deadbeat dad who abandoned his son for fame, only to come back and use him for his own newfound riches, to a man we're meant to root and cheer for during the movie's agonizingly long finale.
For all its faults, on its release date of Boxing Day off this year, Better Man will make a perfect Christmastime watch with the family as you're slipping in and out of consciousness from too much turkey, Bucks Fizz and Cadbury's heroes. Cinematic junk food it may be, but there's no denying that, much like Williams himself, Better Man knows how to put on a show in the most bombastic and British of ways.
Better Man was the fourth secret screening at Fantastic Fest 2024. It is released in UK cinemas on December 26, 2024.