It was a witty comment: Robbie Williams, UK boy-band sensation turned solo star, described himself as a lion, looking for some self-validation in response to Michael Gracey’s seemingly mundane yet keenly inquisitive proposal of if you were to be an animal, what would you be?
When Gracey suggested that this was the wrong answer, seeing through Williams’ well-rehearsed bravado, the Take That singer settled for a more honest answer which would perfectly embody his compulsion to perform, a monkey.
For director Gracey (The Greatest Showman) this was the key, the explanation everyone would be looking for as to why Williams would be played by a CGI monkey in Better Man.
Williams reasoned this choice not only made sense of how he has always felt, but also provided as a nod to his past where, devoid of the luxury of stardom, he was not so far removed from who we have all evolved from, and in some ways, stunted by fame, he is still not.
Narrated by Williams, played by Jono Davies in a motion-captured performance as Robbie the monkey, in a tone that is somewhere between sardonic self-deprecation and a narcissist’s dream, the story itself follows the tumult of his difficult childhood plagued by the antagonism between father and son and industrial substance abuse.
The film’s dazzling surreal episodes cover the greatest hits of Williams’ trauma, from his toxic relationship with All Saints singer Nicole Appleton, to the death of his beloved nan and the falling-out with his best friend
All are hammered home with an almost unbearable subtlety.
But, telling Williams’ life story through a monkey in an otherwise human cast adds a surprising sense of realism to what would otherwise be an obligatory nod to the biopic canon. It draws you in.
This device works so effectively as rather than seeing an actor attempt to represent the vulnerability of humanity, reliving Robbie’s life – the words he has said, the experiences he has lived, the songs he has written and even the women he has slept with – while trying to maintain a level of godliness, we see everything else.
There is no heroic sheen to Better Man, at least not until the very end.
The film does not shy away from the drugs, debauchery and the harrowing revelations exhumed from sensationalist tabloid splashes, including Appleton’s abortion following alleged pressure from All Saints’ record company.
Yet we spend most of it feeling for the boy who felt everything and the man who wants to be seen.
In a notable step-up from The Greatest Showman, Gracey offers a heart-felt take on the rock biopic, interposing real-world facts with daringly surreal episodes, tapping into the vulnerability of the 15-year-old boy beneath the monkey suit.
Image credit: Flickr, Luigi De Palma
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