It was an ultra-risky bet, but it turned out to be a winning one. If it arrives this Wednesday in French cinemas, the film “Better Man” has been released for several weeks in the United Kingdom and the reviews are unanimous. “ Biopic of dazzling inventiveness », « Crazy, funny and sad », « Unexpected triumph », « Robbie should be applauded for his honesty », « Originality, spectacle and audacity » can we read about this biopic on Robbie Williams, in which the English pop superstar is played on screen by… a special effects monkey! A daring choice, but one which convinced the critics, and which gives rise to totally surreal scenes of dancing or fights in the middle of the film. But why did the “Angels” singer decide to be represented by a monkey in “Better Man”?
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“It’s an eccentric idea, a real change”
Guest of the British show “The Graham Norton Show” on the BBC with, coincidentally, Rami Malek who played Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody”, having revived the fashion for musical biopics, Robbie Williams spoke about this unexpected choice: “ We realized we needed to do something different from other biopics. You went there first [dit-il en regardant Rami Malek] and everyone followed. Since then, the biopic genre has become a bit boring “. With the “Better Man” teams, Robbie Williams to me « need to have a unique point of view » : « The director Michael Gracey came to me and asked me what my spirit animal was (…) I told him “I'm a lion”. He said, “Are you sure.” “A monkey?” I replied “. The British director, behind the hit musical “The Greatest Showman”, then explained the idea to him: “ “Everyone in the film will be human except you, you will be a special effects monkey.” It's an eccentric idea, a real change. It's incredible ».
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With his humor and outspokenness, the artist with 75 million records sold continues: “ I went to see the Minister of Finance, namely my wife, to tell her that I was a monkey. She didn't understand and that's when I told myself that this choice was questionable. Until she saw the movie. (…) Without spoiling, the film is 45 minutes of songs like “I'm a little monkey from Stoke-on-Trent” then it becomes “Trainspotting”: it's a compilation of trauma and grief for the TikTok generation “. He says he sent the script to Gary Barlow, a former member of Take That, whom he trashes in the film but with whom he has since become friends again. The reaction of the main interested party: “ “It’s worse than Darth Vader in the first Star Wars” “. So he had to make some adjustments: “ At the time, I was a different person, with a different way of thinking, like Gary. In this film it comes to the surface, it's super weird and I can understand how traumatic it can be. And everyone else I stab in the back [dans le film]I fuck them “. Statements without tongue in cheek, similar to those that Robbie Williams reserved for certain people within the film “Better Man”!
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