While the profusion of biopics in cinema continues to grow, Better Man embraces the genre to chronicle the life of pop singer Robbie Williams. And if the latter tells his story himself via voice-over, the film directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) has a significant feature: the British star is represented in the form of a monkey in computer-generated images!
Since madness Bohemian Rhapsodythe biopic is on the rise (Rocket Man recently, the film about Bob Marley or the future juggernaut Michael), so it's not surprising to see stars from all walks of life become the fools of a feature film. And where Better Man seems completely calibrated by wanting to tell the story of singer Robbie Williams, the footage of Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) takes a relatively unexpected turn.
Biopic that makes you grimace
From the outset, the film makes us visualize Robbie Williams as he sees himself: a chimpanzee gifted with speech and talentlike an underdeveloped character trying to make his way through the strata of showbiz! A gimmicky argument to get people talking about Better Man no doubt (no, we're not in a spin-off of Planet of the Apes), but one that gives a welcome uniqueness to the company from the outset.
Because beyond this gimmick aspect which we accept relatively quickly, we find ourselves in all the global stages of the biopic: the disadvantaged youth, the complex relationship with the father, the first successes, the use of drugs, the great romance , the psychological downfall… Better Man thus traces a roadmap that is all the more well-known as it is literally based on the life of Williams, himself a producer !
Better Man: semi-conscious artistic gesture
And it is there the project becomes interesting, plunging the autobiographical journey into another reality close to musical. Robbie Williams also brings a certain irreverent tone via voice-over narration similar to Fight Club or Goodfellas (verbal obscenities and use of illicit substances included). The grainy effect of the film brings a certain visual cachet, the literal antics of the character automatically give him an identity crossing borders or genres.
Better Man thus displays real surrealist know-how on the part of Michael Graceyexploding during expertly orchestrated musical numbers. In addition to an exhilarating sequence shot in the middle of London on the song Rock DJ (the film's last stand without a doubt while the singer's greatest hits), the director does not hesitate to directly represent Williams' demons through its simian avatars (even in the final concert releasing horses of graphic violence), giving the appearance of a mutant film to this Better Man decidedly gripping.
Creative bellows that fall at the end
However, after a more exhilarating and nasty first hour, the kamikaze nature of the project gradually gives way to a testamentary and personal view on the part of Robbie Williams. A way of addressing himself to the public and his audience, while putting a bandage on his relationship with his father.
A noble declaration, but one which short-circuits the creative and narrative desires of Better Manarriving in its final straight line at a scripted impasse to close its story…. therefore preferring extra-diegetic homage and celebration to awards. From then on, we fall back into a slightly opportunistic and hagiographic dimension of the biopic, something that Better Man carefully avoided until now. Not enough to twist this resolutely WTF and curiously endearing project!
-Better Man will be released in cinemas on January 22, 2025
avis
6.5
pretty faces
With Better Man, Michael Gracey and Robbie Williams bypass the expected elements of the biopic with a dose of punk irreverence and real know-how in developing musical numbers. It’s a shame that the kamikaze project based on performance-captured monkeys ultimately leaves room for a semi-conscious autobiographical and promotional gesture. Not bad all the same!
