Australian filmmaker Michael Gracey’s The Greatest Showman earned much love from audiences when it debuted seven years ago, and his return might just be one of the most ambitious movie musicals in years. Better Man swings for the fences, for better or worse, and while its intentions are noble, its execution is mixed at best.
Better Man Review
Better Man is a musical telling the story of British musician Robbie Williams, following him from his days in the boy band Take That to later branching out into a successful solo career in the late ‘90s. Although Williams is not as notable as some other British musicians who have recently gotten this treatment, like Freddie Mercury and Elton John, his story (at least as it is told here) follows pretty much the same beats.
The ensemble features solid performances from actors like Damon Herriman, Steve Pemberton, Kate Mulvany, and Karina Banno. However, much like the story, these supporting actors all play to the common conventions of the musical biopic genre. They inhabit their roles well but don’t do anything that other performers haven’t done better.
That being said, the main thing audiences will walk away from is the CGI monkey that portrays Willaims throughout the entire runtime. Indeed, instead of casting an actor who looks like the British pop star to represent him, we get a motion capture performance from Jonno Davies with voice acting from Willaims himself. As far as motion capture goes, Davies gives a very strong turn, with expressive mannerisms that blend those of a simian and those of the stage presence we all know.
The effects work in the film is also impressive, although one would expect no less from the team at Wētā Workshop, who was behind the VFX of such blockbuster films as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies and James Cameron’s Avatar movies. Apart from the CGI, the film looks incredibly bland, which is disappointing for a musical. A film in this genre should not look grey.
However, it feels like the filmmakers do very little with this gimmick. It is explained that we see Williams portrayed as a monkey because it is how he sees himself: as a monkey performing for others’ enjoyment. However, these themes are not explored in sufficient depth. We don’t have a cautionary tale about the cost of fame and Williams’s disillusionment with the spotlight; it’s just another sex and drugs and rock and roll biopic — just with an intriguingly original approach.
The biggest issue with the film, though, could not be overcome. Unfortunately, it feels as if Robbie Williams’s catalog simply does not lend itself well to a jukebox musical. When watching a jukebox musical, there is at least some expectation of fun. Of course, since Better Man is also a biopic, you expect there to be the typical trials, tribulations, and tragedies that come with fame — especially in one’s youth. However, there also needs to be energy in the film.
Those familiar with Williams’s discography will know that most of the singer’s songs are ballads. In a typical jukebox musical, ballads would be used sparingly throughout the film to convey the highest emotional moments of the story, but in Better Man, they make up almost the entirety of the soundtrack. Because of this, it’s difficult to get through the two-plus hours of the musical’s runtime. It’s draining — worse yet, for a story that follows the same formula we have seen done in musician biographies dozens of times before.
Is Better Man worth watching?
You have to credit Better Man for trying to do something unique for its genre, but its ambitious swing doesn’t work. Robbie Williams’s life simply doesn’t lend itself to the jukebox musical format, and the result is a film that feels disappointingly vapid, underdeveloped, and frankly boring.
Better Man is playing at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, which runs September 5-14.
Better Man TIFF Review — Gimmicky Musical Biopic Doesn’t Have Enough Energy
Better Man has an interesting idea and premise, but it doesn’t do enough with it. The result is a jukebox musical biopic that doesn’t have the energy to remain engaging.
