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Better Man (film)

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For works with a similar name, see Better Man (disambiguation).

Better Man
An anthropomorphic chimpanzee wearing a suit is surrounded by paparazzi.
Australian release poster, referencing the Life thru a Lens album cover
Directed byMichael Gracey
Written by
Produced by
  • Paul Currie
  • Michael Gracey
  • Coco Xiaolu Ma
  • Craig McMahon
  • Jules Daly
Starring
CinematographyErik A. Wilson
Edited by
Music by
  • Batu Sener (score)
  • Robbie Williams (songs)
Production
companies
  • Sina Studios
  • Facing East Entertainment
  • Rocket Science
  • The Lost Bandits
  • Footloose Productions
  • Mid-March Media
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 30 August 2024 (2024-08-30) (Telluride)
  • 25 December 2024 (2024-12-25) (United States)
  • 26 December 2024 (2024-12-26) (Australia)
Running time
135 minutes[1]
Countries
  • Australia
  • United States[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$110 million[3]
Box office$22.5 million[4][5]

Better Man is a 2024 biographical musical drama film co-written, produced and directed by Michael Gracey about the life of the English singer Robbie Williams. Williams is portrayed as an anthropomorphic chimpanzee, performed by Jonno Davies using motion capture, and voiced by Williams and Davies. Steve Pemberton, Kate Mulvany, Alison Steadman, and Damon Herriman also star. The choice to depict Williams as a chimpanzee was inspired by his perception of himself as a "performing monkey".

Better Man premiered at the 51st Telluride Film Festival on 30 August 2024, and was released in the United States on 25 December 2024 and in Australia and the United Kingdom the following day. It received positive reviews, won nine AACTA Awards, including Best Film, and was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards, Critics' Choice Awards, BAFTA Film Awards, and Visual Effects Society Awards. It was a box-office bomb,[a] having grossed $22.4 million on a $110 million budget. The film reached the top 10 of the UK Film charts, after it had been released onto DVD and digital download sites.

Plot

[edit]

In 1980s Stoke-on-Trent, eight-year-old Robbie Williams is humiliated during a football game. At home, he is comforted by his grandmother, Betty. His father, Peter, teaches him to sing in a style inspired by Frank Sinatra, but makes Robbie feel worthless. During a production of The Pirates of Penzance, Robbie discovers he can charm audiences with mischievous behaviour, but is upset when his father does not attend. When his father leaves the family to pursue a career as an entertainer, Robbie salvages items belonging to him during a move to a smaller home ("Feel").

As a teenager, Robbie declares his ambition to be a famous singer but is dismissed by a career counsellor. In Manchester, he is initially rejected at an audition for a boy band, Take That, but his determination and confidence earns him a place. Take That initially perform in gay clubs, but build a fanbase ("I Found Heaven"). A performance to a crowd of teenage girls propels them to stardom ("Rock DJ"). As their fame grows, Robbie struggles with self-doubt, battles with their manager, Nigel Martin-Smith, and begins abusing drugs ("Relight My Fire"). At a meeting at Gary Barlow's mansion, he is fired from Take That.

Robbie spirals into addiction, haunted by hallucinations ("Come Undone"). He forms a relationship with the All Saints singer Nicole Appleton ("She's the One") and a partnership with the songwriter Guy Chambers sparks a career revival ("Something Beautiful"). Robbie finds success with his first solo album, Life thru a Lens, ("Land of 1000 Dances"), but his personal life remains troubled. His relationship with Nicole dissolves, and he is devastated by the death of Betty ("Angels"). He strains his relationship with his childhood friend, Nate, and his father.

Robbie performs for 125,000 people at Knebworth Festival ("Let Me Entertain You"), but struggles through the concert, paralysed by fear and his failing mental health. He sees himself battling his various past selves, including his child self, whom he angrily slaughters. After the concert, Robbie nearly attempts suicide but realises he must confront his problems.

Robbie enters rehab. He reconciles with his estranged friends and family, including a heartfelt reunion with Nate and an amicable parting with Nicole. He visits Betty's grave and commits to being a better version of himself ("Better Man"). At the Royal Albert Hall, Robbie reconciles with his father onstage to perform the Sinatra song "My Way". He delivers a heartfelt tribute to Betty and addresses the visions of his past selves, transforming them from antagonists to sources of growth. He sees a vision of his younger self in the audience, reaffirming his purpose to inspire and entertain ("Forbidden Road").

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

Development

[edit]

The project was announced in February 2021 as co-written and directed by Michael Gracey with Oliver Cole and Simon Gleeson also having co-writing credits, and Gracey also producing alongside Jules Daly for Big Red Films and Craig McMahon for McMahon International.[11] Later that year it was reported that funding also came via the Australian government's Producer Offset and Film Victoria's incentive programmes.[12] The film is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Roadshow Films with international sales handled by Rocket Science.[13]

Described as a satirical musical, the project was reported to cover three decades of Robbie Williams' stardom, from his first success in the group Take That through the ups and down of his career. The project was reported to "reinterpret and recontextualise" some of his songs.[14]

Casting

[edit]

Williams described the filming process as "super odd" because he would find himself sitting "in make-up and the lady that's playing your grandma is sitting next to you, and the people playing your mum and dad".[15] Williams is portrayed and voiced by Jonno Davies as a CGI chimpanzee using motion-capture technology.[16] Williams narrates and voices his character in the final scene. While Williams re-recorded many of his songs, Adam Tucker provided additional vocals, including "My Way" and "She's the One" (with Kayleigh McKnight).[17]

Other cast members include Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman, Anthony Hayes, Damon Herriman and Kate Mulvany, with Williams' Take That bandmates played by Jake Simmance (Barlow), Liam Head (Donald), Jesse Hyde (Owen) and Chase Vollenweider (Orange).[18] Visual effects were provided by Wētā FX.[19]

Filming

[edit]

Gracey wanted to tell the story from the perspective of how Williams saw himself. As Williams often described himself as a "performing monkey", he suggested depicting him as a chimpanzee.[20] Williams said: "I've been a cheeky monkey all my life. There's no more cheekier monkey than the coke-snorting, sex-addict monkey that we find in the movie."[21] He also saw it as a way to avoid the distraction of an actor playing him, with audiences constantly assessing the performance and resemblance. Gracey said: "It desensitises and sensitises you all at the same time. We have deep empathy and compassion for animals, way more than we do for humans."[21] No explanation for his appearance as a chimpanzee is given in the film.[20] As Williams did not want to leave his family for months of filming, he only performed motion capture for the final scene, when he performs "My Way".[20]

Principal photography took place at the Docklands Studios Melbourne, in May and June 2022.[22][23] Filming of concert scenes from his Live at the Albert show in 2001 were filmed at the Royal Albert Hall in London during Williams' concert appearances there on 6 and 7 November 2022. Members of the public were able to purchase bargain price tickets to attend in evening dress for the gigs.[24] Filming also took place in London in March 2023,[25] as well as Krnjača, between Belgrade and Pančevo, Serbia.[26]

Music

[edit]

Songs performed by Williams in the film include "She's the One", "Angels" and "Let Me Entertain You".[27] Gracey stated that the songs would be "re-sung", to suit "the emotion of the moment" in the film.[28] The original score was composed by Batu Sener.[29] On 22 November 2024, Williams released the single "Forbidden Road", taken from the film's soundtrack; it peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart.[30]

The soundtrack album to Better Man was released on 27 December 2024. On 3 January 2025, the album debuted at number 1 on the UK Albums Downloads Chart, and at number 4 on the UK Soundtrack Albums Chart. After its release on physical formats, the album debuted at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart.[31]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Performed byLength
1."Feel"
Carter J. Murphy and Steve Pemberton3:00
2."I Found Heaven"
Robbie Williams, Adam Tucker, and Tom Bales3:02
3."Rock DJ"
  • Williams
  • Chambers
  • Kelvin Andrews
  • Nelson Pigford
  • Ekundayo Paris
Robbie Williams4:01
4."Relight My Fire"Dan HartmanRobbie Williams, Adam Tucker, and Tom Bales2:36
5."Come Undone"
Robbie Williams and Adam Tucker3:08
6."She's the One"Karl WallingerRobbie Williams, Adam Tucker, and Kayleigh McKnight4:17
7."Something Beautiful"
  • Williams
  • Chambers
Robbie Williams4:01
8."Land of 1000 Dances"Chris KennerRobbie Williams and Adam Tucker4:05
9."Angels"
  • Williams
  • Chambers
Robbie Williams and Adam Tucker5:29
10."Let Me Entertain You"
  • Williams
  • Chambers
Robbie Williams3:38
11."Better Man"
  • Williams
  • Chambers
Robbie Williams and Adam Tucker4:20
12."My Way"
Robbie Williams, Adam Tucker, and Steve Pemberton7:04
13."Forbidden Road"
Robbie Williams3:17
Total length:51:58

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Better Man
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[32] 5
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[33] 36
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[34] 168
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35] 3
Greek Albums (IFPI)[36] 69
Irish Albums (OCC)[37] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] 58
UK Albums (OCC)[39] 1
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[40] 1

Release

[edit]

Better Man premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2024.[41][42] Additionally, the film opened the 55th International Film Festival of India on 20 November 2024.[43]

The film was theatrically released on 26 December 2024 in Australia by Roadshow Films and in the United Kingdom by Entertainment Film Distributors.[44] It had a limited theatrical release by Paramount Pictures in the United States on 25 December, before a wider release on 10 January 2025.[45][46] On why Paramount chose to acquire the film, Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian points out that the studio wanted to replicate the success of a traditional sleeper hit where it would bomb theatrically at first and then gradually find momentum by releasing it on home video through positive word-of-mouth, pointing out the allure of the film's bizarre premise as a selling point.[47]

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

Better Man received tepid box office receipts in the UK and Australia,[48] having grossed a respective $8.5 million and $3.3 million, as of 18 April 2025.[4] As of 18 April 2025, Better Man had grossed $2 million in the United States and Canada, and $20.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $22.5 million, making it a box office failure.[5][4]

In the United States and Canada, Better Man had a limited release for two weeks before expanding into a wide release in its third weekend, where it was projected to gross $2 million from 1,291 theaters.[49] The film debuted at $1.1 million, finishing outside the box office top 10.[50] The box office in North America was attributed to Williams' obscurity there.[b] However, Deadline Hollywood noted that the film was bound to fail in the US since it had failed to perform well even in Williams' native United Kingdom. It performed more poorly than films playing on far fewer screens, including The Brutalist ($1.38 million from 68 theatres) and The Last Showgirl ($1.53 million from 870 theaters).[6]

Aware of this while making the film, Gracey had attempted to counter the problem by portraying Williams as a primate,[55] hoping the film would resonate with American audiences.[56]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Following the release of the film onto DVD and on digital download sites in April 2025, Better Man debuted at number 3 on the UK DVD Chart and peaked at number 8 on the UK Film Chart.[57]

Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 209 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Daring to substitute its marquee star with a VFX creation and somehow pulling it off, Better Man makes a monkey out of the traditional musical biopic to thrilling effect."[58] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[59] Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film an 83% overall positive score, with 63% saying they would "definitely recommend" it.[6]

Clint Worthington of RogerEbert.com awarded the film 4 out of 4 stars. He praised the pacing, the musical sequences, and the inventiveness, writing that the use of a monkey to portray Williams delivered a "curveball" away from the usual tropes of the musical biopic.[60] In a 3 1/2 out of 4 star review for The Washington Post, Michael Andor Brodeur described the computer-generated monkey as "astonishingly expressive and strangely disarming" for recounting Williams's journey through fame.[61] In another positive review, Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times commended the film for capturing the vulnerabilities of Williams as he struggled with addiction, insecurity, and relationships, writing: "Neither hagiography nor hatchet job, the movie casts an understanding eye on a once-infamous musical artist who weathered dizzying highs and devastating lows".[62]

In a negative review, Kevin Maher of The Times gave the movie 1 out of 5 stars, viewing it as a self-aggrandizing and vapid recounting of Williams's career. Maher wrote: "The subject's decision to cast himself as an 'unevolved' monkey buys him a licence to litter the rest of the movie with tedious therapy-speak, a phoney yearning for acceptance (even as he nurtures delusions of divine grandeur) and a mother lode of narcissistic victimhood".[63]

Filmmakers Tim Fehlbaum and Drew Goddard both cited Better Man as among their favorite films of 2024, with Fehlbaum saying "This concept is so anarchic and wild that it's hard to put into words how this film works; you have to see it to believe it. Michael Gracey has just created one of the best music biographical films of all time, certainly the most original."[64] The late night host Taylor Tomlinson dedicated a segment of her comedy panel game show After Midnight to praising Better Man.[65][66]

Accolades

[edit]

The song "Forbidden Road" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards.[67] It was initially shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 97th Academy Awards, but was disqualified a few days later after it was found it incorporated material from another song.[68] The film was only nominated for Best Visual Effects.[69]

Better Man received a record-breaking 16 nominations at the 2025 AACTA Awards, winning in nine categories, including Best Film.[70][71] It was nominated in four categories at the 23rd Visual Effects Society Awards for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, Outstanding Character in a Photoreal Feature, Outstanding Compositing and Lighting in a Feature, and Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project.[72] It also received a nomination for Best Special Visual Effects at the 78th British Academy Film Awards.[73]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Attributed to multiple sources[6][7][8][9][10]
  2. ^ Attributed to multiple references: [48][51][52][53][54]

References

[edit]
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