MIDNIGHT REVIEWS Better Man
Take That, other music biopics!
Matthew D. Smith also has a podcast he co-hosts with Leslie Wai. You can find it here.
Better Man (2hr 14mins)
Directed by: Michael Gracey
Featuring: Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton
Synopsis: A musical biography of one of the biggest music superstars in the world, Robbie Williams, here represented by a monkey. Yes, that’s right.
Review: Sometimes reviewers feel forced to admit certain things before jumping into a review. They have to talk about how much they admire a certain film maker, or have a predilection for a particular genre, lest a reader announce that said reviewer only likes a movie because ‘it’s got all your favourite stuff in it.’
So I’ll start with a few announcements of my own: there are a lot of things on Better Man’s ingredients list that I do not get on with. Musicals are fine, but I often find it difficult to get into a story that has such a layer of artifice. I cringe when I see that yet another music biopic has been announced. And I despise The Greatest Showman.
All that being said, Better Man is outstanding.
Artistic choices […] justify this idea [having Robbie Williams be played by a monkey].
It’s obvious early on that if it can maintain the energy it displays in its opening moments, that Better Man will be a magnificent ride. And it does manage it. Even in the slower, quieter moments that are needed to tell certain parts of the story, there is a powerful undercurrent that comes along with putting a chimpanzee (Davies in mocap; a mixture of him and Williams’ vocals) front and centre.
The monkey-as-protagonist might seem like a gimmick. But there are a few artistic choices that actually justify this idea. It’s been mentioned in publicity talk that Robbie Williams sees himself as a cheeky monkey, and that others have described him thusly. The main character of Better Man certainly does seem cheeky to the extreme, rubbing people up the wrong way and engaging in every excess that catches his eye in order to fill the hole left in him when his dad (Pemberton) left. There’s also a straightforward explanation partway through as Williams describes himself as unevolved, a reference to being stunted after finding fame at such a young age.
Better Man must also work out the practical aspect of this choice. If audiences can’t look past the fact the central character is a monkey, and can’t get over that no other character mentions it, the whole thing falls apart. Somehow, Better Man pushes these worries aside in its opening seconds, and if you’re able to look past it too it will pay you back tenfold.
There’re also the figurative monkeys on the main character’s back, the visions he sees whenever he performs. Williams imagines himself in the crowd, sometimes multiple versions, looking on with scowls or unabashed anger. Quiet whispers promise doom.
Brushes aside the negatives that threaten to derail things.
It’s in these moments of flair where the movie provides what other biopics wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. In what other music biopic will you see the main subject engage in medieval battle with his own inner demons, decapitating a skinless version of himself as he deals with his failures to find real love? Despite the fact the film follows the general redemption arc of 99% of music biopics, at least it deigns to tell the story in a new, exciting way.
It’s not just these moments where things get introspective. The film as a whole is extremely melancholic. Even the ending, the one sequence where the filmmakers wanted to sure pure joy and forgiveness, is tinged with regret and sadness in the context of what came before. If you’re someone looking to get into the music business and you’ve been struggling lately, it might be an idea to actually give this movie a wide berth as the things it has to say about what comes along with success are heavy going.
It’s these positives (in a certain sense) that fortunately stick to the movie as it brushes aside the negatives that threaten to derail things. A voiceover by Williams explaining his starting circumstances would become tedious if it featured this heavily throughout (thankfully it doesn’t; and it actually returns to make for a very funny closing line). Better Man also doesn’t, even after introducing an actual monkey as its protagonist, seem to trust its audience to put two and two together in these early segments. Several events were put on display, only for Williams to butt in and explain what just happened. Again, the movie jettisons this early enough that it doesn’t ruin the whole thing.
The ending is indulgent, though, and by the time it comes around the story feels stretched almost beyond its capacity to entertain. Despite this, Better Man proves its worth up until these last fifteen minutes or so. Come for the prospect of a different kind of music biopic; stay for Rock DJ being sung by a cabaret crowd in Piccadilly Circus.
Matthew D. Smith likes to overshare his views on movies and TV shows whenever and wherever he can. Indulge him, and follow him on Twitter or enjoy the podcast he co-hosts with Leslie Wai.
