Movies

Review: Giddy, imaginative ‘Better Man’ is the next evolution of the music biopic

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As a music enthusiast who has been through the highs and lows of following numerous artists, I must say that the life story of Robbie Williams, as portrayed in this article, resonates deeply with me. The rollercoaster ride of his career, filled with triumphs, scandals, and personal struggles, mirrors the unpredictable nature of the music industry itself.

The pop star Robbie Williams is leagues more famous in his homeland of England than here in the States, American tastemakers having capriciously chosen to ignore his chart-topping ’90s boy band Take That and megawatt solo career. Go see his biopic anyway. All you need to know heading into “Better Man” is that Williams considers himself a performing monkey. Some screenings even have a pretaped introduction where he tells you so himself.

Director Michael Gracey (“The Greatest Showman”), known for his wild creativity, shares the rest of the story with unbridled humor and candor: the drugs, scandalous love affairs in the tabloids, the intense desire for fame that plagued Williams, which led him to achieve 14 No.1 albums in the UK charts, set a Guinness world record for selling 1.6 million concert tickets in 24 hours, and enter rehab. Despite his notorious party lifestyle, the character of Williams is portrayed by a CGI chimpanzee. In confession to his support group, Williams the monkey confesses, “I’m still stuck in my evolution.

In this film, Williams both creates and narrates it, and it appears that he allowed Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, and Gracey to critically dissect him mercilessly. While some stars camouflage their arrogance beneath humility, Williams veils his sensitivity with self-deprecating humor about being a narcissist. However, his songs reveal his raw, vulnerable emotions. He begins the movie by disparaging himself, and subsequently bears his embarrassments with the pride of someone wearing a Purple Heart on his hairy, ape-like torso.

As a movie enthusiast, it’s not hard to imagine that the man who named his best album “The Ego has Landed” embraced the chimpanzee stunt because he was unwilling to face the possibility of a talent scout finding a young doppelganger of Robbie Williams. The concept isn’t far-fetched, really. Chimps and pop stars have their fair share of mischief and wild behavior, from trashing furniture to flashing grins that seem to rip your face off. Even physically, Robbie Williams bears a striking resemblance to an ape, with his direct gaze and defiant jawline. He charges headstrong after what he desires, primarily a crowd so loud it drowns out the self-loathing echoing within him.

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Two movies have fashioned a distinctive genre, where animated elements and visual flair breathe fresh life into the well-known story about a musician’s journey to stardom.

In this context, Williams openly admits his battles with depression. However, his ambition remains unchanged – to entertain no matter what. This has been his approach since he was a 16-year-old, fearing he was the least skilled and most replaceable member of Take That, the popular British teenybopper pop group. By sheer determination, he rose to be the beloved member of Take That, known for his playful antics in pursuit of applause. Exposing himself on television, Williams personifies the phrase “charm offensive.

Absolutely, this biographical film about a musician follows the usual patterns: scenes showing him leaving the band, lyrics written following a heartbreaking event, his struggle to gain approval from his distant father, portrayed by Steve Pemberton in an outstanding performance. Every minute is filled with something amusing, absurd, breathtaking, or touching. At times, they all blend together, such as when young Williams (played by Carter J. Murphy) imitates his father, a struggling nightclub performer, while watching Frank Sinatra on TV. This scene serves as a glimpse into the power dynamic that continues throughout the film and also satirizes imitation.

Jonno Davies is the outstanding motion capture artist under Wētā FX who delivers an exceptional performance as the ape character. The rest of the cast also gives a compelling performance alongside him, displaying remarkable dedication. The character played by Williams is lively and dynamic, often winking, swaying, and even climbing into people’s laps. Williams has made memorable appearances in various award shows, such as flirting with Tom Jones or challenging Liam Gallagher of Oasis to a fight – incidents that have become iconic in pop culture. Williams appeared loose, carefree, and possibly intoxicated. In contrast, Davies delivers a flawless performance while being sober.

It’s not clear just how much dance choreography we see Davies performing amidst the pixels. He’s a well-known theater actor who gained fame portraying Alex in a stage adaptation of “A Clockwork Orange.” In this film, there’s an exciting musical scene where the Take That group members storm through the West End, and at the height of the song, Williams jumps from the top of a double-decker red bus. The entire movie, including this heavily digitized extravagance, is all about atmosphere — the joyful chaos of youth, wealth, and fame in their twenties. All four actors in the scene representing the human members of the band are visible and skilled not only at dancing but also at self-deprecation. Jake Simmance, portraying Gary Barlow, gets one of the movie’s biggest laughs. Angered by Williams’ drunken stumbles during a stadium show, his character Barlow storms up in a thong to scold, “You’re making us look like fools out there!

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In a clever twist, the play subtly reminds us that many people whom Williams had conflicts with are still alive, even his father, and some have shown a tendency to take legal action, such as Nigel Martin-Smith, founder of Take That. Fittingly, the humor is playful yet unpredictable, setting up jokes only to abruptly switch direction. Nigel, Williams remarks, is “a total sweetheart.” There’s a momentary pause that leaves you guessing whether he’ll stop there or deliver a sharp critique. (He does, repeatedly.) To add an extra jab, the hair and makeup team give Nigil (Damon Herriman) a distasteful, fashionable chin-strap goatee reminiscent of the early grunge era.

Regarding fans of Williams, they’re perceived as both exciting and frightening. After departing from Take That in 1995, there was an influx of calls to suicide hotlines from emotionally distraught girls. In a chilling underwater performance of his ballad “Come Undone”, these teenagers swirled around him like panicked bait, their wounded wrists trailing blood as they threatened to drag him down with them. The most terrifying scenario would have been being overlooked, a predicament Williams humorously portrayed in his 2000 music video “Rock DJ”. If you didn’t find it unsettling at the time, the climax involves Williams impressing a crowd of women by casually shedding his skin and pelting the audience with pieces of his raw flesh.

For those familiar with his popular songs, they will be beautifully rearranged to fit his life narrative – the sequence of his singles holds no significance whatsoever. In these short music videos, Gracey and his editing team of five skillfully blend present and future events to cover as much ground as possible. The most striking example is the love song “She’s the One,” which begins with Williams meeting his early girlfriend, Nicole Appleton from All Saints (portrayed by Raechelle Banno), on a yacht. As the blossoming relationship spins into a ballet, the number leaps forward to reveal the pain that lies ahead, before returning to the past, leaving us to feel the poignancy of all that squandered potential.

In my opinion, this movie doesn’t require being this impressive. The cinematography by Erik A. Wilson is remarkably warm and grainy, making the transitions between scenes as smooth as vodka sliding down an icy funnel at a frat party. Gracey manages to convey an astonishing amount of detail – from the quirky creak of the leather jumpsuit to the angled camera shot that reveals the ordinary pulley system used to hoist Williams upside-down in front of a crowd of 125,000. The production designers have a knack for keeping us on our toes. As soon as Williams reaches new heights of fame, the set begins to show signs of wear and tear. There’s always somewhere more exciting he needs to go next.

Although the film showcases Williams’ reckless behavior, it also presents a compelling portrayal of his artistic development and dedication. You sense his authenticity as a songwriter before he does. A scene occurs where his new manager (Anthony Hayes) forewarns Williams that success would deplete him of everything, leading into an intense montage of drugs, crowds, and vomit that verifies this prediction. This suggests something about American tenacity in not learning about Robbie Williams for the past 35 years. We’re just as obstinate as he is. Nevertheless, do watch the movie. In less than two hours, you’ll be swept up in his captivating whirlwind to such an extent that when a chimpanzee weeps while stabbing another on a confetti-filled battlefield, you might think, yes Robbie, I truly empathize with your journey.

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2024-12-24 14:33

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