Written by Nicole Cabrera

In today’s entertainment world it seems like everyone is having a biography film made in their honour; with praise for successes like Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer or previous Oscar contenders like Bohemian Rhapsody we have seen an influx of films about rock stars in varying degrees of success. Yet, rarely has an upcoming film got such a big head turn not due to dislike for whom the film is about, but rather-confusion of who is this person?

The person in question is none other than Robbie Williams, the film is Better Man directed by Michael Gracey. What separates this film distinctly and wisely from the pack though, is Williams is not played by a look alike actor- in fact,he’s not even human- a chimpanzee has taken his place and leads us on Williams' harrowing if slightly melancholic life story.

The question remains though, who the heck is Robbie Williams?

Ironically, Robbie Williams is a bonafide global superstar, of former Take That boy band fame; he is the holder of multiple records for selling out stadiums across the UK and Europe for over 17 years-only to be dethroned in recent years by Taylor Swift. He is a familiar name in South America and is seen to be popular as far reaching as Australia. In fact,the only place that Williams seemed to make the least amount of impact was here in North America; though arguably, Williams at least charted in Canada with songs like “Millenium”, “Rock DJ”, (known for traumatizing a generation with it’s music video in which Williams strips down to literal bare bones, but that's a discussion for another time). None of this compares to the UK where “Angels” is everyone's favourite guilty pleasure 3am pub song to belt out.

Gracey takes us on some of the same steps as most biopics from humble beginnings with a small sapien standing in for Williams in his youth; shockingly the ape is not a point of contention- not once is it brought up as something to alienate him, he simply is “Robbie”. Both Gracey and Williams have given various reasons for why they chose this artistic way to portray the rock star’s life and why this animal choice- but Williams has simply said that he often felt “less evolved than others” or like a circus animal forced to perform illuminating the darkness that can cling behind the glitz and glamour.

Despite this, young Robbie grows up the way a lot of people do- working class with his mom, gran and absentee father. Robbie is seen to be quick witted and has a charming cheekiness from a young age, he has a drive to be famous fostered by his flighty father who idolizes the greats like Sinatra and Davis before him and teaching Young Robbie that “being somebody” is the only way to be happy; leaving the young boy haunted by this desire going forward and manifesting itself as various versions of himself that taunt and ridicule him from crowds at his performances going forward hoping for his downfall. Fortunately, not everyone in the Williams household holds this sentiment and Robbie is seen to be nurtured by his gran who shows him what truly matters is what is inside of us.

As he grows,Robbie is seen to be a bit of a lost teen, a dreamer with no clear path- until tryouts for a local boyband roll into town- Robbie not only shows off his voice but more then anything that cheekiness “fake it till you make it” attitude… and it works. From here, Williams’ life changes as he is introduced to his bandmates: Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jason Orange, lead singer Gary Barlow and their ambitious manager Nigel Martin Smith.

*Better Man* is a thorough biopic, one that tries to truly analyze its subject inside and out, metaphor and all.

Robbie is seen to speak moderately about his relationship with his bandmates as the group of teens gets to hustling, mostly playing shows night after night in the gay club scene trying to make a name for themselves. From here we see the trouble start- unsupervised with drinking and drugs it quickly becomes part of their lives especially young Robbie. As word of mouth spreads, they begin to get female fans and grow in popularity until at last they get their first record deal and enter the stratosphere of riches beyond one's dreams. But everything is far from perfect, despite the success and fame Robbie has never been lonelier, his imposter syndrome drags him down and eats him alive, starting a vicious cycle of abuse to cope with not feeling worthy.

Take That became a sensation overnight, getting everything they ever wanted, but Williams struggled to find his place in the band and soon the honeymoon phase was over as Robbie’s value in the band was brought into question. Despite his desire to write, WIlliams is too shy to show off his work and he is seen as the weakest link due to his “bad boy personality”'; he is promptly kicked out of the band and left to not only prove himself as a solo artist but live up to the monster ego he had created. Teaming up with songwriter Guy Chambers (Tom Budge), Robbie is stuck in a sink or swim situation of success- with Guy’s help he discovers he has the spark to create great things if he could only see it within himself. Together, the two kick start Robbie’s career anew.

Williams' story is not all doom and gloom- there are moments of joy and beauty as we see when he meets Nicole Appleton of All Saints fame and their romance executed through a beautiful dance sequence blossoms. Likewise, we also see glimpses of the boy that deeply loves his family and still finds comfort at his home in the safety of his mother and gran despite being more absent.

Yet, Robbie’s success is the proverbial monkey on his back- his desire to be wanted and valued haunts him; pushes him to keep going to a dangerous degree in order to keep people like his flighty father in his life. Gracey does an excellent job of showing those double edged emotions of jealousy as well, as Williams watches Nicole get the success he craves, or meeting his peers in Liam and Noel Gallagher and seeing their star continue to climb while his stays the same. Everything hits an eventual breaking point as he pushes everyone away, even those few friendships he has- as Robbie prepares for the biggest concert of his life at Knebworth with a 375,0000-strong crowd. Everything comes to a head as he is tormented by the various versions of himself and can't deal anymore, and has a battle to the death of his egos killing all the Robbies’s that came before- even that young boy who started off his love of performance but his desire to be accepted.

The crash-and-burn is followed by rehab; What makes this different then other films is the audience is given the impression that Robbie has actually learned from his addictions- he takes responsibility in his role in his own downfall, he doesn’t make himself an innocent victim of circumstance but carries his own burdens.Williams knows what it’s like to lose: the passing of his gran and the crumbling of his marriage and wins: his recovery and being able to repair relationships and set boundaries like that with his father. At the same time, we see how the world of entertainment can be a cruel one; in the aspect that as long as you’re delivering a service and the money keeps rolling; there are very few people who will care for you.

The use of a chimpanzee to represent pop star Robbie Williams works in *Better Man* as a representation of not fitting in, being tough on one’s self, and feeling like a trained animal in the entertainment industry.

Ultimately, what makes Better Man an emotional gut punch of a film is its heart. Robbie has always been a divisive character but despite this, you can't deny his passion. Williams wants what a lot of people want: to be successful, to be liked and to do what one loves- he just got lost along the way unfortunately. Director Michaeal Gracey does the unlikely, while other films tend to protect the titular character; Williams does the opposite and honestly throws himself under the bus and is upfront about his addictions and mental health and shockingly shoulders the blame for almost all of it. Moreover, his honesty also shines through in a way that is often glossed over in Hollywood adaptations in terms of addiction- you get the notion that Williams' conditions be his imposter syndrome, or depression is not something that is simply cured, but rather something he has learned how to heal from and deal with.

Visually, Better Man is a joy- Gracey shines creating elaborate visual sequences like the heartbreaking pain of “Come Undone” and “Angels” but the crown jewel would be the dance sequences for “Rock DJ” which takes place in Regent Square and used over five hundred dancers that shows on location sets and practical effects are not a thing of the past. The unsung hero in this film however, is Jonno Davies -the man behind the physical form of the ape- Davies sings, dances, and carries the heart of that eager young Robbie who dreams of fame to the man he is today. Jonno breathes life into his chimpanzee and for lack of a better word brings humanity to the chimp; without him this movie doesn’t get off the ground. Davies' understanding of Williams is only probably second to the man himself. The technology is fantastic, as those very real human emotions shine through clearly on the sapien’s face; to the point I teared up seeing the misery on his fuzzy face- one of several times actually that my tears caught up with me- that combined with earnest painful lines like “ I dent easy” leads to a remarkable performance.

Better Man for all its unique traits is at its core a film about a man losing and finding himself again; and while the lack of popularity in North America or the somewhat repetitive notion of fame being a dangerous and deadly drug, or lack of not knowing this musician may be the reason people stay away from this film; it has so much to offer: its painfully honest, earnest and for all purposes human. Robbie WIlliams to some degree, is no different from the rest of us, as humans we have hopes and dreams, we ache and yearn, have fears and insecurities, no matter what face we put on to the rest of the world. It is also about healing, no matter how long the journey or how many setbacks- after all, being a “better man” than we were before is a goal we should all strive for.

Nicole Cabrera is a Toronto-based film enjoyer with a passion for the eighties, horror, and deep diving their favourite actors’ obscure filmography. When they’re not watching movies, they're writing, crafting, cosplaying, going to concerts, working on their podcast (Hollywood Deepdive. )and dreaming of traveling.