Elton John. Freddie Mercury. Amy Winehouse. Aretha Franklin. Some truly iconic voices of the last century have been adapted to the big screen in some truly breathtaking biopics. Some were crazy, others had a lot of depth. Each one was unique in their own way and told the story of these inspiring musicians with a truly cinematic eye. There are biopics in the works based on Michael Jackson and The Beatles, but there are some recent icons that are worth this adaption process which leads us to Better Man.
Better Man is a film with an outrageous concept that simply shouldn’t work and had the potential to be a gimmick. The concept in question is having the story of Robbie Williams told by having a CGI monkey play Robbie but with his real voice narrating the film. It is wild, but it is something that Robbie Williams would do because as he states his story is anything but ordinary. From boy bands, fallouts, scandals and rehab, he sure went through a lot. The film goes through his life from a young boy to when he played at the Royal Albert Hall with his father. The result is a visual feast, an emotional rollercoaster and an immersive experience that you just wouldn’t come to expect.
Michael Gracey, the filmmaker behind The Greatest Showman, is behind the lens and his visual style shines through every frame. The dancing, choreography and editing are all stitched together to give some outstanding song and dance sequences. Some of which feel like anything you’ve seen on the big screen before. From songs like “Feel”, “She’s the One” and “Rock DJ”, each one packs a punch and with only select songs getting the dance treatment it makes each one more memorable than the last. This is the biggest draw for the film and personally is worth watching the film for. Saying that the character depth, candid narrative nature of the story and Robbie’s internal monologue help craft a very honest film that centres around family.
Better Man doesn’t do a lot wrong but I do feel the ending could have been fleshed out a bit more, as the Knebworth concert feels like a big crescendo for the film but then the film continues but loses a bit of its momentum. It is a side niggle more than anything and doesn’t do much to distract you from the film, it just feels like we could have seen a bit more of Robbie’s life on the screen. His romance with Nicole Appleton, a member of the All Saints band, is brief too and could have been expanded on as well. Apart from these small nitpicks, the film truly sings and dances its way from start to finish in a very British fashion.
★★★★☆
4/5
Final Verdict:
Better Man sees Robbie Williams take a real internal look at himself and into his psyche. His antics and his personality is all over the film with filmmaker Michael Gracey diving into his personal past and relationships in a way that doesn’t shy away from the bad things in his life. The writing is gripping, the visuals are the biggest draw, but the story is what keeps audiences going. For a biopic it works on a lot of levels and hopefully we get more biopics like this one in the future.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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