Better Man

By: Jamie Steinberg

As a person that grew up in the 90s, I thought I knew Robbie Williams. He was a pop music icon (a la Harry Styles) with demons that set him back every now and then. However, the movie Better Man gives fans a true (yet cheeky) look into the life of the man who has often described himself as feeling like a “performing monkey” and “a little less evolved” than his fellow man – thus director Michael Gracey’s (The Greatest Showman) CGI monkey take on the musician. We all know stardom tends to come at a price and Better Man gives a full look at the kinds of pressures and pleasures Williams faced on his rise to fame.

Williams came from a rough background where he lived in a working-class neighborhood and had a disapproving father. We also see that from an early age Williams appears to face clinical depression and had a very low opinion of himself – something Jonno Davies encapsulates through motion capture – as we see inner demons take on a physical form. They help him lose focus as they berate him time and time again. Despite these words’ hold on him, Williams worked his way up to being the youngest/most outlandish member of the hit pop group Take That and became quite known for his public antics and struggles with drugs and partying. Thus, we see Williams become the larger-than-life figure that we knew of him at the time (including a name change from Robert to Robbie – thanks in part to Take That’s manager Nigel Martin-Smith [Damon Herriman]. Here viewers begin to feel both frustrated for the lad yet sympathetic. It hits you right in the heart when Robbie realizes that his search for fame was a means to understand why his father, Peter (who was also a singer) chose a life on the stage rather than being a family man. And what I loved about the film is that Williams turns the mirror on himself – not shying away from acknowledging that he wasn’t always the best person, most notably to those who were important in his life.

Director Gracey does an exceptional job at shining a light on the price of fame and Williams is just astounding for his willingness to pull back the full curtain on his life. The decision to make Williams a CGI chimp was simply brilliant and truly elevates the symbolism of the life of a musician – a creature forced to perform the same songs and dance routines night after night. Add in some incredible costume changes, choreography and musical numbers and you are just left truly in awe of Better Man.

Robbie Williams has entertained us for decades – on and off stage – with the persona we only know from his interviews, hard living lifestyle and musical accomplishments. For someone who has openly said they are afraid of being thought a fraud, Williams actually has real showmanship and a lovely voice. Better Man truly resonates with its audience, and you will leave the theater singing its praises (and one or two Take That hits).