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Better Man
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01:12
Better Man
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- 2024
- Michael Gracey
- 135 mins
- 15
Summary
Robbie Williams, in the guise of a chimpanzee, is transformed from Stoke-on-Trent schoolboy to Take That star and solo artist. He navigates fame, fractured relationships, addiction and self-doubt while chasing the approval he craves. Director Michael Gracey's biopic, starring Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton and Alison Steadman
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Review
A star rating of 4 out of 5.
Patrick Cremona
This Robbie Williams biopic from The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey boasts a strikingly original conceit. The central character is portrayed as a chimpanzee - with actor Jonno Davies providing a motion-capture performance. A plethora of Williams's hits are worked into the narrative via dynamically staged musical numbers, and it's at its best in the inspired stretches when it truly leans into its quirky conceit - most notably during a surprisingly staged rendition of Let Me Entertain You. Meanwhile, although it doesn't shy away from showing Williams at his worst, Better Man is also empathetic and insightful about the pressures placed on those who become famous when young, and the lack of resources to insulate them from the dark side of fame. There is the occasional lapse into music biopic cliché, but this is easy to forgive when such an ambitious decision has been taken at the conception stage. This is an honest, entertaining and endlessly endearing spectacle.
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7.5/10
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Credits
Cast
rolenameRobbie WilliamsRobbie WilliamsRobbie WilliamsJonno DaviesPeterSteve PembertonBettyAlison SteadmanJanetKate MulvanyNateFrazer HadfieldNigel Martin SmithDamon HerrimanNicole AppletonRaechelle Banno
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Crew
rolenameDirectorMichael Gracey
Details
Theatrical distributor
Entertainment Film Distributors
Released on
2024-12-26
Languages
English
Guidance
Violence, swearing, sex, discriminatory language, suicide references, drug abuse
Formats
Colour
News & features about Better Man
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Better Man review: Forget Wicked, this is the best movie musical of the year
The Robbie Williams biopic is an honest, entertaining and endlessly endearing spectacle that seems certain to play well with a crowd.
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Better Man soundtrack: All the songs in Robbie Williams biopic
Several of the former Take That star's biggest hits are included in the film.
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