TL;DR – A fascinating look at a pop icon that takes some wild swings that don’t always pan out.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

Warning – contains scenes that may cause distress.

Better Man Review –

Today, we look at one of the oddest films that I watched in 2024. On the one hand, this was a very boilerplate biopic that explored the life of pop icon Robbie Williams. However, they also make massive artistic choices throughout the film, most notably by depicting the focus of the biopic as an ape. This was a fascinating choice, but did it work? And that is the question we will explore today.

So, to set the scene, Robbie Williams (Robbie Williams/Jonno Davies/Adam Tucker) had spent most of his life growing up in the small town of Stoke-On-Trent. Living with his mother Janet (Kate Mulvany) and Nan Betty (Alison Steadman) after his father Peter (Steve Pemberton) left to try and be an entertainer. He hasn’t done well at school because he has these lyrics in his head and a drive to be famous. It’s a good thing that his first big break has just strolled into town as Nigel Martin-Smith (Damon Herriman) is looking for boys to be part of a new band, Take That, which is Robbie’s chance to get out of this town and make something of himself.   

I am honestly fascinated by the choice to depict Robbie as an ape, a choice that the film absolutely commits to for its whole runtime. It works in context with the film, and you see why they used it from a narrative perspective. The question is, did they need to go down that route? And I am not entirely sure. This picture stands out among the many musical biopics that we have had in the last couple of years, such as Elvis. But I am sure that it did put a big extra chunk into the budget. I am interested to see what technology they used to put this all together because just from the feel of what we get on screen, it feels less like a heavy mo-cap situation like the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and more like how they put together the cybernetic elements of The Creator.  

As this is a biopic about a musician, that means that we will be getting a whole range of their song to pop up throughout the movie, and on this front, Better Man delivers in spades. There is a reason that Robbie Williams is a pop icon: his music has a real energy to it, which translates very well to film. This is also very nostalgic for me because his first solo albums came out when I was exploring my musical tastes as a teenager. Sometimes, the songs just sit in the background. However, much of the time, they are incorporated right into the film in dramatic set-piece moments. Which should not be a surprise given this is the director of The Greatest Showman. Of all the performances, I think I liked Rock DJ the best, as we got multiple costume changes and some absolute carnage on screen. However, they chose not to add one of his best songs, Kids, which was an odd omission.

While I generally enjoyed my time with the film, I will say that this is positioned very clearly as a single perspective on a life. Because of that, there is a real vibe of an unreliable narrator at times. Sometimes, this is a deliberate choice on behalf of the film. Other times, it felt like they were presenting things in a slightly generous way. Also, as we are looking at a whole life, it ends up being a very long film, and it very much felt like it could have been tightened up. I think they struggled in the edit, and you felt that at times, especially given how many montage sequences they go through.  

In the end, do we recommend Better Man? If you like the work of Robbie William, you should absolutely go check it out. It is also such an odd film that I think it would interest a lot of other people who are not just music lovers. Have you watched Better Man?, let us know what you thought in the comments below.If you liked Better Man, we would recommend to you Rocketman.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 


Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Better Man
Directed by – Michael Gracey
Written by – Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole & Michael Gracey
Based on – The life of Robbie Williams
Music by – Batu Sener & Robbie Williams
Cinematography by – Erik A. Wilson
Edited by – Jeff Growth, Spencer Susser, Martin Connor, Lee Smith & Patrick Correll
Production/Distribution Companies – Sina Studios, Facing East Entertainment, Rocket Science, Lost Bandits, Footloose Productions, Azure Centrum, Partizan Films, VicScreen, Screen Australia, Paramount Pictures, Entertainment Film Distributors & Roadshow Films
Starring – Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Adam Tucker, Steve Pemberton, Kate Mulvany, Alison Steadman, Damon Herriman, Raechelle Banno, Jake Simmance, Liam Head, Jesse Hyde, Chase Vollenweider, Tom Budge, Leo Harvey-Elledge, Chris Gun, Anthony Hayes, Frazer Hadfield, John O’May & Jack McMinn
Rating  – Australia: MA15+; Canada: 14A; Germany: na; New Zealand: R; United Kingdom: 15; United States: R