One thing is certain: without the monkey, Better Man it would have been a biopic like many others, with the story of the life of Robbie Williams which follows the pattern of the classic parable of the star: the rise to fame, the descent into hell, the rebirth. Representing Robbie Williams as an anthropomorphic ape is instead the brilliant and disruptive intuition that makes all the difference here, the one that transforms Better Man in a unique film, which will be difficult to forget.
Perhaps only someone like Robbie, whose life resembles “the act of a tightrope walker without a harness” (his words), could accept such a crazy and, at least on paper, risky idea. This is the image, after all, with which he has always described himself: a circus monkey, to be brought on stage to entertain the public. «My DNA is cabaret», is the premise he himself declares at the beginning of the film. Also Better Man It was ultimately born from this innate tendency towards cabaret, from a kind of home cabaret show, with some anecdotes from the past told to his friend the director Michael Gracey, who at a certain point, captivated by his skills as a narrator, started recording. The result is “the most sensational stories” that Gracey has ever heard: he will be the narrator of Better Man.
The film tells the life of a boy from Stoke-on-Trent with a dream bigger than his modest living room, where Sinatra sang with his aspiring crooner father, a fundamental figure in his life. The monkey was born there, between a working-class childhood and a self-irony useful for survival. From Take That to the record 375,000 spectators at Knebworth, the story explores the overwhelming success and the very high price paid by a boy who, behind the clown mask, hid loneliness, addictions and panic attacks.
Always poised between self-irony and self-pity, the main merit of Better Man perhaps it lies in the fact that it neither hides nor softens anything, it brings out all the dark side with a brutality that at times shocks but which in the end turns into catharsis. There is the ruthless manager, there are the pressures of the industry, there is the love story with the singer Nicole Appleton which foundered after an abortion, there is the snobbery/bullying of certain fellow musicians, there are the addictions and even a suicide attempt. And then there are the moments that pulsate with life, the ones that give the film its emotional depth. Like when Robbie sings My Way with his father found again; the monkey on the stage has disappeared: a son remains who tries to mend the wounds of the past.
The very human vulnerability of a star unfolded before our eyes. Maybe a new number of the monkey, certainly a character (person) that you can’t help but love.
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
