Better Man Movie Review: The Biopic on Robbie Williams’ Life Will Leave You Speechless?
Better Man it’s a wonderful movie, and we can only try to tell you about these over two hours of incredible show and great emotions. A Russian mountain that takes us into the existence and heart of a man who aimed to become one of the gods of music and who succeeded in realizing that dream, realizing however that it is certainly not all gold that glitters and that you can also get to the top of the world, but if in the depth of yourself forces move that row against you and do not face them, however, you are destined for defeat. Better Man, what punctuality! In the path that leads from the sinner to the atonement of sin, the confessional becomes media… once again. A face-to-face interview and pseudo-intimacy for the sole purpose of recreating attention on a career is now over. But we will be logical and more tolerant. A small biopic? We can’t even talk about this. Robbie Williams becomes a monkey and analyzes its metamorphosis from animal to man as if it were a beast in its evolution.
Syllogisms, negations against all evidence, repentances, and excuses, but excuses to whom? To an audience that seems to love and support him and who raised him as the rebel gods Take That, the Englishman of pop and the favorite son of the mother to whom everything is forgiven: cunning and ability to conquer a solo career. Robbie Williams’s incredible and daring human adventure is one of which, at the end of the film, you cannot help but admire the courage with which, once again, he made himself available to the public, giving his living flesh to a work that is also a great sight for the eyes, thanks to Michael Gracey’s touch full of flair that gives us an innovative and powerful film, full of poetry, daring metaphors and a succession of scenes of great visual impact, as well as emotional. Without forgetting the music, Robbie’s big hits, which are at the same time sublimation and skeleton of the story, often accompanied by choreography which, as in the case of “Feel” Rock DJ“, are real fireworks.
Better Man Movie Review: The Story Plot
Robert Williams was a boy bullied in Stoke-on-Trent in the ’80s. He feels less and less than the others and for this reason, even if, as if we were under a spell, we don’t even notice for a second, we see him represented as a monkey. And the way that kid looking for heat sees himself and will continue to see himself over the years: “less and less advanced than the others”. Robert lives with his father, a man attracted by the lights of the show, who loves the artists of the Sinatra clan and tells his son, while they sing My Way together in the living room, how much those men, the entertainers, are gods with the magical power of make people forget the problems. When this bizarre and frustrated father decides to try the showbiz road leaving home and family to themselves, Robert remains with his mother and beloved grandmother to cultivate the ambition to become someone, to get the only thing he has always wanted: the attention of the father.
At 16 comes the big opportunity: thanks to the tough face and the good looks, he is chosen for a new boy band: Take That. We all know how it went, but Robbie here says his, which does not coincide at all with what they told us at the time. From that moment, however, Robert becomes Robbie, but his ascent to heaven coincides with a descent into hell that broods within himself. As success grows, its demons become more intrusive until they sink into depression and then into the vortex of addictions. Robbie is turned away from the band and finds himself alone and alone again, he is convinced, he will never make it. It ends lower and lower but finds a way out in the desire for revenge, an always powerful engine. Then she meets an important love, Nicole Appleton of the All Saints, and finds a way to believe in herself and become Robbie Williams, no longer just the ex-Take That, but the stage concert pop star. The revenge on an environment that had marginalized him is not enough to appease the syndrome of the impostor who eats it from within. And while looking for a balance between life and stage, other events break it, overwhelm it, and push it lower every time it tries to raise its head.
Better Man Movie Review and Analysis
The choice to be represented as a primate is not surprising. Robbie Williams during his career, has always proven to be transgressive and has a personality over the top (sometimes even a little too much). Yet this visual representation is perfect for telling the story of his life. In what could become yet another dramatic biopic on an English pop star, it turns into a nice and provocative analysis of success. Better Man breaks the empathic wall with the viewer showing us, through the gaze and eyes of a chimpanzee, the sensations that we did not believe possible except through human eyes (at least in films like this). In Better Man obviously, there are some of Williams’ greatest songs such as Feel, She’s The One, Angel or Let Me Entertain You. Although the film is not sold as a musical, in several places the film is carried out not only by acting but also by the music, song, and dance that flow spontaneously and naturally, without ever distorting the film. All the “video clips” present in the film are created to give context and weight to the meaning of his songs, deepening the lyrics to tell their genesis.
Better Man is a film not to be missed. The human material on which it rests, the story full of shadows and few lights, but still blazing by Robbie Williams, is the basis on which he then puts his hands, eye, heart, talent, and creative flair, a visionary director who is not afraid to risk and trusting himself gives us an innovative, as well as unforgettable film. Gracey immediately makes a risky move, which displaces. The protagonist? We make him a monkey. This element, which should be the most alienating, is instead the one that gives the deepest substance and yes, even more “human” to the film. As Williams’ voice explains at the beginning, he is a monkey because that’s the way he sees himself, since he has always felt “less evolved” than the others. But being “less evolved” also means having fewer superstructures, therefore also less armor and less protection. In this story, the protagonist renounces every tinsel, to present himself so sincere, naked, and defenseless as to provoke an immediate empathy in the viewer.
And once the heart has captured us, with those large and perpetually disoriented eyes, that little chimpanzee of Stoke-on-Trent, you can no longer abandon it to its fate, even when it deserves it. The rise to success that coincides with the descent into personal hell, the relationship certainly not serene with popularity, the difficulty of living even a true love in a world, that of pop of the years ’90, which squeezes to the core the young stars of few seasons, the compromises, the envy, the rebellions, the instinct for self-destruction, the tensions, the deepest pains and desires betrayed to realize those of others, the ruinous falls and the tiring ascents but also, in the background, the years of Cool Britannia, the explosive music scene of brit pop, always poised between indie and prepackaged splendors for MTV, all this and much more becomes a spectacular cinematographic work, of great impact, in a succession of extraordinary scenic inventions, deeply poetic amazing narrative solutions, overwhelming choreography, changes of tone and register that mix in a swirling carousel up to the field battle that, just on the day his career reaches the highest and most coveted point, Robbie decides to hire against all his demons, looking them in the eyes and fighting them without running away in an epic and finally cathartic scene.
One wonders if Better Man is a realistic story despite the narrative voice being the singer, because sensing the reliability of those who, are accustomed to exhibiting themselves, is not easy! A well-structured musical ladder feels like it is the first dose of nostalgia for those children of the 90s still struggling with the first computers and instant messaging. And then to increase karaoke emotion, Angel, Rock DJ, etc… Here, Better Man is a shot in the years “soporiferous” constipated between the bulky ’80 and the nascent 2000 which in an evolutionary generational process will be the concretization of that chimera to the Ufo Robot. And here we are, in this psychological flow between the desire for eternal adolescence, the drug that only now everyone wants – finally – to talk about, success and its curse. A docufilm that resembles the interviews of prime time but within the minute of a cinema increasingly willing to take on these responsibilities. A scandal that does not scandalize anyone and that occurred about a year after the series was produced by Netflix.
But between a confession, an unpublished story, or an anecdote, let’s sing! Robbie Williams, born in the county of Staffordshire in 1974, is a boy who lives in the countryside of the United Kingdom in the most classic of British families devoted to the queen, between revolutionary punk and the cross between the two worlds in the verses of the Duran Duran. The first train takes him to London and considering his solo career from 1997 to 2019 he released 13 albums excluding collections and the parenthesis with Take That. Sales over 21 million, many appearances at festivals from Guinness in hand and super live; even a BRIT Award after David Bowie and Elton John. A TV series vs Beckham and now a movie, Better Man. An icon that crosses and defines pop culture, that of the video clip in the standings on MTV, the advertising breaks with the releases to the cinema and the fanatics of astrology.
Of our competence: Better Man is directed by Micheal Gracey manufacturer of Rocketman (2019) film about the life of Elton John. The style is the same; the impacting script takes up the effects from Grand Show and well-defined colors: the aging of 2024. The privilege of the film is sequential discipline; memory is not a disturbing element, everything is synchronized concerning real times; no cinematic tricks. Better Man is introspection, it does not use the stage and its unique and two-faced perspective but rummages in the backstage of an artist who for the first time does not show only the clean part of himself but also the damned, tormented, and cursed part, all well absorbed in his cinematographic concept. Better Man it is a provocation without targets, it is the nudity of an artist – now aware – who seems to want to tell everyone that he has put his head right.
Better Man is a story with a great impact. Robbie Williams lets the audience get into his head to tell his life, trying to help people improve and understand those who experience certain difficulties. We find a script full of pain and deep emotions, which with show and entertainment transports to the artist’s story. We explore childhood characterized by dreams, but above all by marginalization and paternal abandonment. Then move on to adolescence where Robert already meets fame, with this come drugs, alcohol, and sex. Here strong pain becomes violence and creativity, not only in the art of ours, but also through heavy sequences of visual greatness. History, however, does not present anything innovative or particularly exceptional. Much of what Better Man tells was already explored in perhaps even more interesting ways in films such as Rocketman. But here he excels in the characters, three-dimensional and memorable, thanks to excellent performances and wonderful dialogues. Starting from our Robbie Williams, played by himself, as a narrator and in the sung parts, and by Jonno Davies, in motion capture and dialogues.
Williams continues to prove himself to be an exceptional entertainer, impeccably bringing all his vocal talent to the big screen and adding a lot of rhythm and character making himself the narrator of his story. But it is Jonno Davies who commands the film, starting from the excellent work in the movements, but his performance is truly worthy of being among the most interesting of the year. Funny, mean, and full of pain … Davies manages to show each of these personalities and emotions also through his monkey. Great actor tests also those of Steve Pemberton, like the father Peter, and Alison Steadman, like grandma Betty. But, good or bad, all the characters manage to stand out, nobody is a saint or a damned in a film that speaks precisely of the many nuances of the ego.
Better Man makes great arguments as to why it is a very valid cinematographic experience. Starting from the technical work in CG, carried out by Weta Digital (The Planet of Apes), almost impeccable. You get used to the monkey so quickly that his stage presence is never questioned. Even in moments of great spectacle, digital effects mix so well with practical ones that it is difficult to distinguish from each other. The photograph of Erik Wilson shines and lives on the big screen. Full of sequence plans and large images that live between colors and exceptional lights, also thanks to a very pleasant film effect that is used throughout the film. Good assembly of the great Lee Smith, although a better rhythm could have been useful to the film. The sound sector is also good, which manages to give moments of great impact and support photography. The only problem is in musical moments, which are too clean up concerning dialogue and this causes a too evident sonic detachment, in my opinion.
I would like to have kinder words instead for directed by Michael Gracey, but this seems to be one step behind The Greatest Showman. Despite several great show scenes, I can’t say that the staging is constantly interesting in Better Man. At its best it presents pure wonder, at its worst, it remains valid, but not a little anonymous. Unconventional on paper, and deliberately inconsistent as regards the chronology of the songs used and some details of certain situations, Better Man has from its unquestionable driving force of the character it tells, the ambition to get away from the meshes of the usual glossy hagiographies and the undoubted ability to know how to turn to both Robbie Williams fans and the rest of the general public. For all the rest it is much less revolutionary “than it would like/should be but, you know, labelling films is always good.
Better Man Movie Review: The Last Words
Better Man is a film that manages to excite and amuse. Robbie Williams tells his story with an extremely personal and multifaceted film, just like its protagonists. It moves between great scenes of emotion and absolute visual spectacle, also thanks to the exceptional work in photography and visual effects. However, it seems to be too long with the handbrake pulled. We focus on scenes of great spectacle and visual madness, but not enough. Instead, we are dedicated to a drama that, yes, works and moves, but as it is presented it is already partially felt. At the expense of some hitches, however, Better Man remains a very pleasant film worthy of attention. Fan or not, the viewer ends up catapulted into the atmosphere of a film full of passion and entertainment. Better Man does not reach greatness, but it is still a type of cinema that is always nice to meet.
Cast: Damon Herriman, Robbie Williams, Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman, Kate Mulvany, Jonno Davies, Jake Davies, Jake Simmance, Raechelle Banno, Karina Banno, Anthony Hayes, Asmara Feik
Director: Michael Gracey
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4.5/5 (four and a half stars)
Better Man Movie Review: The Biopic on Robbie Williams' Life Will Leave You Speechless? - Filmyhype
Director: Michael Gracey
Date Created: 2024-12-26 17:28
4.5
