Better Man: the story of Robbie Williams told in his own way | First Take

When it was announced that one of this country's biggest ever popstars was exploring a biopic into his own life, albeit with the most 'him' twist of using a chimpanzee to embody his character, it was a bit of a long shot idea - but that's just who Robbie Williams is. It took until 2024 for the film to happen, and way longer for the review (cheers Festival Jury duties!) but yes, I finally got round to Better Man, and I'm happy to report that it was rather good!

A singular profile of pop superstar Robbie Williams, chronicling his meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence.

Michael Gracey of The Greatest Showman fame is in charge of this VFX-heavy 2 hour 24 minute ride through the life of the Take That-turned solo artist, Gracey, alongside co-writers Oliver Cole and Simon Gleeson obviously worked hard with Williams and his team to make this film happen, notably as it truly embodies Williams' personality from start to finish -this is a dark film at times, not just with its humour (earning the 15 certificate fairly easily for a LOT of strong language), but also what it shows, especially as it reveals details about Williams' personal life between the solo breakthrough and those iconic Knebworth gigs. The fact that this film got banned in Qatar due to "excessive drug use and immorality" should say it all in fairness, but between the heavy elements, is well staged, and features well executed sequences to all the iconic hits. From Rock DJ, to Angels and back, all the big songs are present and correct, with the entire film shot brilliantly by Erik Wilson, and complimented by a Batu Sener score that weaves in all the needle drops with ease.

Williams himself acts as narrator, with Jonno Davies playing the motion capture and voice of the film's performing monkey - and in tandem the duo are able to make this CG/in-camera mix work incredibly well to sell the story and give it the weight it deserves. The great Steve Pemberton and Alison Steadman play his parents, and the supporting cast, which includes Raechelle Banno, Damon Herriman, Tom Budge alongside Jake Simmance, Liam Head and Chase Vollenweider and Jesse Hyde being relatively convincing versions of the Take That boys in their 90s heyday, yes, some artistic license is taken to make this film what it is - but it is a hell of a lot better than the jukebox musical Take That attached their name to (and we all know what I thought of Greatest Days). It's an entertaining film, and one which, sadly has been dubbed a box office bomb by the industry despite the audiences responding well on both sides of the Atlantic.

THE VERDICT

It is a shame that this film didn't land at the box office, as it gives fans of Williams' work an insight into the man behind the music, in a way that is more accessible than the Netflix documentary which came out a few years ago. This is a perfect time to cover this film in a way, as Williams' latest work Britpop has just made him the only artist to have had 16 UK number 1 albums, taking a record held by The Beatles - such is the stature of the man even all these years later. Seek this one out on Prime if you can, because it is a film which really delivers the goods.

RATING: 4.5/5