Better Man is a 2024 biographical musical film co-written, produced and directed by Michael Gracey about the life of English singer Robbie Williams.
At home, he finds solace in his grandmother Betty's support and his father Peter teaches him to sing in a style inspired by Frank Sinatra, although he also tends to leave Robbie feeling worthless.
During a school play, Robbie's recovery from an accident impresses the audience, but his happiness is cut short by Peter's abandonment of the family.
The band's early days are marked by performances in gay clubs, gradually building a fanbase ("I Found Heaven").
As their fame grows, Robbie struggles with self-doubt, battles with their manager, Nigel Martin-Smith, over creative control, and begins abusing drugs ("Relight My Fire").
Despite initial setbacks, he forms a relationship with a member of the pop group All Saints, Nicole Appleton ("She's the One"), and a new partnership with songwriter Guy Chambers sparks a career revival ("Something Beautiful").
He delivers a heartfelt tribute to Betty and finally addresses the visions of his past selves, transforming them from antagonists to sources of personal growth.
While Williams re-recorded many of his songs featured in the film, vocalist Adam Tucker provides 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).
[46] Deadline Hollywood noted that the film was bound to bomb in the US since it had failed to perform well even in Williams' native United Kingdom, and also noted its results as worse than other films playing on far fewer screens, including The Brutalist ($1.38 million from 68 theaters) and The Last Showgirl ($1.53 million from 870 theaters).
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.
"[53] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
[55] 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.
[56] 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".
[57] 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".