British pop singer-songwriter Robbie Williams makes a monkey of himself in Michael Garcy’s new musical biopic, “Better Man.”
Although you may recognize Robbie Williams from such hits as “Millennium” and “She’s the One,” you might not know that in 2004 he was voted the Greatest Artist of the 1990s. And in 2006 he was inducted in the Guinness World Records for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day during his Close Encounters Tour.
While telling Williams’s life story, “Better Man” portrays him as a CG-animated anthropomorphic chimpanzee. Yes, you read that right. This ape-like appearance is merely an expression of his inner feeling about himself. As Robbie puts it, he always felt “less evolved than other people.”
Th other characters in the movie do not notice this externalization of his self-image.
His life from boyhood to present day is expressed in song:
His father teaches him to sing in a Frank Sinatra style. He is upset when his parents separate (expressed in the song “Feel”).
He joins the pop group Take That. They perform in seedy gay clubs but eventual find a fan base (“I Found Heaven”). Teenage girls propel them to stardom (“Rock DJ”).
After battling with the group’s manager over creative control, Robbie starts to use drugs (“Relight My Fire”). Following his dismissal from the band, he spirals into addiction (“Come Undone”).
However, he finds new partnerships with Nicole Appleton of All Saints (“She’s the One”) and songwriter Guy Chambers (“Something Beautiful”), sparking a career revival.
There are more struggles with his mental health and deteriorating friendships, but in the end, he commits to becoming a better version of himself (“Better Man”).
You get the idea.
If you’re a fan of British pop, you will enjoy this musical journey.
“Better Man” is showing a Tropic Cinema.
Robbie Williams himself does the film’s narration, but Jonno Davies performs as the singer’s chimpanzee form (voice and motion capture). Carter J. Murphy provides the voice of Robbie as a child, and (oddly enough) Adam Tucker provides most of the singing vocals for Robbie.
The soundtrack album for “Better Man” debuted in January at Number 1 on the UK Albums Downloads Chart, and at Number 4 on the UK Soundtrack Albums Chart.
Email Shirrel: srhoades@aol.com
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