Better Man

It's raw, so simple, but by having that chimpanzee in there it's somehow extremely stark.

Regardless of how much Better Man actually works, it’s one of the only recent movies made at its budget level with a genuinely interesting relationship between its form and content.

It properly delves into its subject’s erratic persona, using the musical segments to advance the story instead of as mandatory breaks in the action. The result is one of the most thoughtfully constructed movies about a musician I’ve seen in years.

While the movie is drawn from Robbie Williams’ life, it’s better to think of it as a fantasy feature. Michael Gracey plays with image and emotion over facts, telling a story through bold, expressive, visually startling sequences.



Of course, the story arc eventually curves up, but the movie is quite the one-off: a crowd-pleaser that feels like singing along to a psychiatric report.

In the end, it is overlong, it is indulgent, and it is essentially foolish, but for all that, it is much more rewarding and entertaining than I expected, and damn it if that central idea actually doesn't work.

I suppose this might be an example of the adage, “The operation was a success but the patient died.”

Those willing to take a chance will find a biopic that works because any fears of bad casting have been eliminated. What is left is a production with enough energy and originality to send the film world into a dizzying spin.

What "Better Man" demonstrates is that, even when we accomplish the goal, when does the accomplishment make us worthy and, if it never does, why keep trying to accomplish anything? ... Metaphors be damned, we just all want to love and be loved in return.

2024, which heralded the glorious return of the musical, was one of the worst years for this genre. An exception is the biopic of singer Robbie Williams, with its splendid choreography and interesting plot.[Full review in Spanish]