The popularity of musical biopics has continued in recent years, with Better Man, a retelling of Robbie Williams’ rise to fame, adding an animalistic twist to the genre.
The film, helmed by Michael Gracey, known for directing The Greatest Showman, delves into the extraordinary life of Robbie Williams. Spanning from his early days with Take That to his solo career success, Williams’ story is truly captivating. However, it seems that the creators of the film wanted to go beyond just a great story.
Oddly enough, the film chooses to stray from the typical cliches and conventions of biographical films by featuring a computer-generated chimpanzee as the lead character instead of the actual singer. Surprisingly, Better Man delves into the emotional struggles of this primate, serving as a symbolic representation of Robbie Williams’ personal journey.
All of this results in incredibly astonishing scenes, such as one where the chimpanzee seemingly partakes in cocaine with the recently reconnected members of Oasis.
Clearly, this original idea made it more difficult to market the biopic.
According to Gracey, the pitch for this project seemed extremely challenging for any studio. Many of the financiers we approached were hesitant due to the unconventional element of having a monkey as a main character.
Initially, they think to themselves, “Yes, of course – the director of The Greatest Showman and Robbie Williams. This will be amazing.”However, I then have to inform them that Robbie will be played by a monkey.
Despite its shocking appearance, the monkey-of-it-all served a purpose beyond just being for shock value. Gracey explained that there was a simple explanation for using a primate stand-in.
“I expressed that I didn’t want to make another musical biopic like Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocketman, at least not in the same way they were approached,”he clarified. “I believed there were more innovative ways to tell this story.”
Upon revisiting the recordings, I discovered that Rob frequently mentioned being forced to perform like a monkey, as if he was just dragged up to the stage and it didn’t truly matter to him. He could often be found at the back of the stage, mimicking a monkey.
“He repeated it so often that I realized, ‘That’s how he perceives himself. He truly believes he’s a performing monkey.’ The thought intrigued me and I found myself wanting to watch a movie about it. That’s how the concept originated and I eventually had to present it to him.”
Using a chimpanzee as an alternative to a young up-and-coming actor or celebrity lookalike eliminates a major challenge when retelling the story of a legend. The casting process is often heavily scrutinized, with accusations of trying to win an Oscar, casting errors, or a lack of talent being common topics of conversation.
Despite having a CGI chimp as the main character, it would be difficult to dispute any of the aforementioned points.
The Telluride Film Festival debuted Better Man, followed by a limited release on December 25, 2024, and a wider release starting on January 17, 2024.
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