Better Man: Movie Review

Cast: Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Damon Herriman, Steve Pemberton, Raecehelle Banno
Director: Michael Gracey

No matter how you feel about Robbie Williams' mix of cheeky chappy charm, cabaret cheese and continuously crowdpleasing chorus-led music, The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey's take on Williams' life is never short of boisterous energy - even if it is a jukebox musical aimed at showcasing Williams' own back catalogue.

While the decision to portray the former Take That singer as a CGI monkey (modelled by New Zealand's own Wētā FX and played to perfection by Davies) may be seen as an out there idea, it actually proves to be a canny move. With his big wide eyes and primate-movements, this anthropomorphised Williams takes a leaf out of the Attenborough playbook, eliciting immediate empathy and thereby delaying any reacting audience members who  deem the English singer "punchable".

The story's a fairly common rags-to-riches-I-just-want-them-and-my-parents-to-love-me-but-I'm-unhappy-with-fame tale, one that so many rock biopics and documentaries are quick and keen to portray.

But where Gracey's proved he's not monkeying around in the slightest is in adding chutzpah to proceedings and bluster to the back catalogue. All of the genre cliches are here - a father who goes AWOL and loves fame (played by The League of Gentlemen's Steve Pemberton in a seeming meta-nod to the troupe's infamous Creme Brulee sketches), a manager who abuses the star, a desire to get number ones when his former band members mock him. It's all there for the taking.

Yet by adding in a human touch among the visual flourishes and rambunctious musical numbers, Gracey grounds the story in unexpected ways. Any English person worth their salt will well up when witnessing the relationship between Williams and his Nan, who imbued their Saturday night TV viewings with UK comedy classics as well as bed and bathtime messages of support.

And there's no denying that Williams' romance with All Saints' Nicole Appleton (Banno) is deeply upsetting - the film never shies away from plumbing the depths of its star's tragedy. While parts of it are flippant and eye-winking over relationships, both professional and personal, it's here that Better Man earns its warts-and-all reputation.

It's true there's a certain amount of bloat in this - and while the story's approachable for all those who don't know Williams' trajectory through life, fans will have a blast from the songs deployed throughout (and be tempted to singalong).

Yet moments of visual flourish and flair (Williams fights his own demons in scenes that feel like a spinoff to Wētā FX's Apes franchise) keep things going - and like all musicals, there are flights of fancy that soar through the screen.

Williams' mantra has always been to let him entertain you - and in this frank and constantly surprising biopic, he's found a way to elevate the tragic rock'n'roll cliches of his own life into something monumentally entertaining.