February 6, 2025

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

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The changing face of biopics: Why they must evolve

An ape singing in front of a crowd in Better Man

Filmmakers are rewriting the script on how to bring a life to the big screen. With swinging into the spotlight as a primate in , it's clear Hollywood is no longer content to simply provide viewers with traditional biographical films.

The days of straight portrayals are fading faster than a film reel. Audiences are now wise to the formula, demanding more than just a run-of-the-mill rehashing of well-trodden ground. Everyone's life story is fair game for the silver screen, but with so many vying for attention, filmmakers need to reel audiences in with something truly unique.

Better Man has been making the headlines for several reasons, the most obvious being the questionable decision to make Robbie Williams a CGI monkey. The pop star stated that when director Michael Gracey asked what he felt his spirit animal was, he replied, “a monkey”. Gracey saw only one way forward, and it changed the film entirely. Williams, though popular in the UK and other far-reaching places, is not well-known in the US. The tactic of representing him in a unique way could have created more intrigue for US cinemagoers. However, it doesn't seem to have paid off, with the US box office taking just $1 million in its opening weekend. Despite glowing reviews and the novelty of a CGI chimpanzee, audiences weren't taken with the idea of watching a biopic about a star they didn't know. The biopic has predictably fared better with UK audiences, making $1.9 million on its opening weekend and only ramping up from there.

Robbie Williams is depicted as a CGI ape in 2024's Better Man.

Debate has arisen as a result of the film as there is a consensus among audiences, particularly in the US, that “anyone” can get a film made about them. Biopics were never reserved just for “the greats”. There is a notion that anyone can now be the subject of a biopic, not just historical figures or legendary artists. It's well known that they can cover all sorts of people from all corners of the world no matter what their background. A person could receive a biopic because of one extraordinary thing they did or a life of achievements.

But why depict Williams as an ape? It certainly lends itself to the story, as Williams states in the trailer that he has always seen himself as “less evolved” than others. Ultimately, it should have been a big draw for audiences—something to set itself apart from biopics that have saturated the market for so long. To a point, this has worked. Social media has been a riot, and debates about the film have been exhaustive. Whether that has resulted in people making the effort to go to their local cinema and watch it is a different story.

We recently saw Pharrell Williams take a similar tact when he got the LEGO treatment in Piece by Piece. It mixed up the idea of a biopic, taking on the identity of an animated film crossed with a documentary. The musician explained that he wanted to create a universal story that his “children could connect with” and that LEGO formed part of his earliest memories. The film grossed just $3.8 million in its opening weekend against a budget of $16 million despite being praised by critics. There is a large potential it could have suffered from cinemagoers mistaking it for a children's film or another LEGO movie, therefore, they didn't show up in droves to support it. However, it's difficult not to spot the pattern in Piece by Piece and Better Man—though they tried something new, they appear to have fallen flat no matter how good the critical reviews are.

Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody.

Biopics have been around since the beginning of cinema altogether. Joan of Arc, which was released in 1900 and directed by Georges Méliès, is widely considered the very first biopic. Other early famous biopics include Napoleon (1927) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The usual format spans either the full life of a historical figure or celebrity or a crucial snapshot of their life. For example, The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) only focuses on the two years she spent hiding with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, as that is the time the real-life diary spans. Meanwhile, Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) covers almost all of Freddie Mercury's life and only ends at Live Aid, six years before Mercury died.

Recent years have seen the lives of Elvis Presley, Eddie Edwards, Leonard Bernstein, Tonya Harding, Mark Zuckerberg, Stephen Hawking, Florence Foster Jenkins, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Hank Williams, and countless more put to screen. Biopics of musicians have been known to take on an entirely different identity in the form of musicals. Rocketman (2019) depicts the life of singer-songwriter and pianist Elton John, played by Taron Egerton (and briefly as a child by Kit Connor). The tale is told like any other musical, with John's hits throughout the years providing the soundtrack to the story and characters breaking out into song. The Greatest Showman (2017) does the same but with original made for the film to tell P. T. Barnum's story. Both of these fantastical and visually dazzling films did phenomenally at the box office and had positive audience reception, which only shows some out-of-the-box thinking can go a long way.

Elvis (2022) was distinct in every manner possible. Baz Luhrmann's chaotic style, as seen in every one of his films, including Moulin Rouge (2001) and The Great Gatsby (2013), dominated this picture from head to toe and heavily influenced the biopic. Ultimately, it proved a good match as Presley's life felt like just that—loud and chaotic. The film was one of the biggest talking points of that year and received many accolades. Luhrmann was celebrated for the vision he brought to the film and how different it was from the usual biopic.

Austin Butler as Elvis Presley in 2022's Elvis.

Of course, many will still stick to the traditional biopic formula. has just hit cinemas, and it depicts folk musician Bob Dylan's life from the pivotal years of 1961 to 1965. Timothee Chalamet takes the helm alongside Elle Fanning in this conventionally formatted biopic. A Complete Unknown follows the traditional path of including performances of certain popular songs in the narrative. However, this isn't the first time Dylan has had a biopic made about him. I'm Not There (2007) set itself apart by using multiple actors to play different parts of his life. Stars included Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere, Ben Whishaw, and Marcus Carl Franklin. The film received good reviews and was lauded for its unique and creative ideas.

The unconventional portrayal of Williams's life in Better Man is arguably necessary. Biopics have evolved similarly to any other genre in that audiences want something different. Anything can become oversaturated if it's done enough times, so the usual biopic formula can often feel stale and predictable. Audiences are now more discerning and demand originality in their entertainment. This is why it's so important to find unique angles and new creative expressions to capture the attention of cinemagoers.

Biopics must evolve beyond traditional portrayals to remain engaging and relevant to modern audiences. Therefore, the future of biopics lies in embracing creativity, experimentation, and pushing the boundaries of storytelling. Don't just tell a scintillating story, make the craft of it fascinating.