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It hard to describe Better Man, the new biopic about Robbie Williams, without people thinking you’re pulling their leg.

The director of The Greatest Showman, Michael Gracey, chose to create a biopic about English pop sensation that is no ordinary biography but a full-blown phantasmagorical musical, where characters burst into song even outside of concert sequences. The film leans heavily into stylisation and manages to deftly push the boundaries of absurdity.

The musical parts often shatter the laws of cinema and reality, plunging into a realm of pure, unadulterated fantasy. Despite ticking all the boxes of a typical musician biopic, audiences may be surprised to find that it doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of Williams’ life. Embracing its R-rating, the film candidly explores themes of sex, drugs, and, curiously, extreme violence.

Then comes the elephant monkey in the room: Williams is portrayed by a CGI chimpanzee in the film. Yes, you read correctly. Brought to life through motion capture, this non-human star engages in all the activities you’d expect from a musical biopic—donning clothes, driving cars, performing on stage, snorting cocaine, and navigating the ups and downs of rehab.

Slash Film rates Better Man with 7.5 out of 10, noting that once you get used to Robbie as an ape, it becomes the least weird part of the movie:

Every song in “Better Man” propels the story forward, shattering the rules of time, space, and cinema. If you’re feeling comfortable, don’t worry, the next musical sequence will do something to break your brain. By the time the musical sequences have taken on the tone of epic fantasy and even more epic horror, either the film has won you over or lost you entirely. This is vision so big, so pure, so singularly strange that it defies convention even as the script simultaneously clings to convention to make sure the wilder choices don’t lose you entirely. Wait. Maybe that’s the joke?

The Guardian‘s four out of five-star review notes it as a “surprisingly entertaining saga” while IndieWire gave the film a B+ noting how Michael Gracey “returns with another wild movie that feels like a cure for the common musical.”

So basically, Better Man is weird and unhinged but not bad.

Catch the film in theatres on December 25, 2024.

[source:variety]