“Better Man,” a biopic of Robbie Williams — the famed bad-boy boyband member turned successful solo artist — is a bit of a risky undertaking. The singer never achieved the success in America that Freddie Mercury and Elton John did — both of whom are the subjects of other recent musical biopics. Moreover, to make a musical where Williams is played by a CGI monkey (while everyone else is in human form) is just bizarre. Metaphors about him being a performing monkey, a party animal, or just an animal come to mind, but watching Jonno Davies as Williams' chimpanzee form having a sexual encounter as he does in “Better Man,” is, technically bestiality. Thankfully, that awkward scene is discretely filmed in this otherwise maximalist production.
In America, Williams may be best known for his song “Angels” which peaked at 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 (it went to 10 on the US Adult Contemporary chart). In the UK he is known for his cheeky behavior. He opens “Better Man” with a statement that he has been described as “a narcissist, punchable, and a s**t-eating t**t,” but that he wants to show “How I really see myself.” (As a monkey.) The film, however, would surely be better as a conversation with a therapist, rather than an estimated $110 million-budget movie.
“Better Man” charts Williams’ childhood in Stoke-on-Trent, and he claims, “I came out of the womb with jazz hands, which hurt my mother,” hoping to get a laugh. He performed badly in sports and in school, but was a decent singer and could get a chuckle hamming it up in the school play. Fame is pretty much all Williams craves because he doesn’t want to be a “nobody.” And the next two hours depict his relationship with fame after he is selected to be one of the members of “Take That,” a British boy band in the 1990s that achieved inexplicable success. For the uninitiated, the band first performed in gay clubs — and “Better Man” mentions Williams’ gay rumors — and then for thousands of adoring female fans.
Williams wants to write songs for the band, but given that he is the youngest and weakest link, he is eventually asked to leave. He struggles with depression and feels he “can’t keep track of who I am.” “Better Man” presents these lows with the same lethargy as when Williams makes one of his unremarkable insights such as, “Fame is a powerful aphrodisiac. It means even ugly people can get laid.”
Alison Steadman as Betty in "Better Man" (Paramount Pictures)The film has few insights about its subject. It is clear he loved his grandmother (Alison Steadman), and his mother (Kate Mulvany), and that he had a complicated relationship with his absent father, Peter (Steve Pemberton). After he found success as a teen, he became addicted to drugs and alcohol at age 21. Watching a CGI monkey snort lines of cocaine may be the most interesting and depressing moment in the film.
The biggest revelation may be that Robbie Williams is just not a nice or likable person. He speaks contemptuously of the folks he makes music with, and treats both his girlfriend, Nicole Appleton (Raechelle Banno), and his best friend Nate (Frazer Hadfield) badly. The film gives viewers no reason to root for him. And it is hard to pity Williams when he has a moment of self-awareness and acknowledges his bad behavior.
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To its credit, the film’s musical numbers are pretty fantastic, and the songs help tell Williams’ story well. In fact, “Better Man” might work better on the London stage as a jukebox musical than in cinemas. Director Michael Gracey, who helmed “The Greatest Showman,” knows how to deliver a showstopper when Williams performs his hit “Rock DJ” out in the streets. It is a fun, high-energy set piece that captures the enthusiasm Williams has for performing. Likewise, the introspective “Come Undone,” which he performs while contemplating suicide, is quite moving and visually inventive. Gracey has Williams’ car, which is about to hit an oncoming vehicle, plunge into water instead, enhancing the meaning of events by rearranging their context. It is an effective moment in a film that could use more scenes like this.
In contrast, most of the concert appearances show Williams torturing himself with crippling self-doubt as voices in his head and visions in the audience tell him that he is no good. Perhaps the CGI monkey is a metaphor for imposter syndrome.
Much of “Better Man” feels like Williams is trying to convince viewers he is all right — not just a good guy, but the “better man” of the titular song who has come out the other side. That may be the case as Williams does get to clear the air with his father right before he performs in front of 125,000 thousand fans at Knebworth, the largest concert ever. His goal in performing there was to one-up Oasis, revealing how ego-driven Williams is.
But it is far more heartfelt when Williams sings “My Way” with his dad both as a child and as a superstar. (The film indicates that Sinatra, along with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. are among Williams’ influences.) Williams wants to impress upon folks that he is an iconoclast, and it comes off as smarmy.
The father-son storyline is ultimately the most emotional part of the film, but it takes almost two hours to get to the heart of it. Viewers may not have the interest or the patience. It is a very fair point when Peter tells his son, “No one buys a ticket to hear your problems,” and this may well be the problem with “Better Man.” This self-indulgent account of his troubles will not make folks who don’t know Williams appreciate him. And given that the film’s message is that Williams achieved the fame he thought would make him happy only to learn that it doesn’t is hardly a good message to send to fans.
Maybe the monkeys will enjoy “Better Man.”
“Better Man” opens January 10 in theaters nationwide
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