Better Man (2024) Movie Review

Better Man (2024) Movie Review

The musical biopic sub-genre has seen some great entries over the past 10 years, with two fantastic films hitting cinemas in 2024 alone, with ‘A Complete Unknown’, which chronicled Bob Dylan's rise to fame. The second entry in the genre we received, was ‘Better Man’, which also told the story of Robbie Williams rise to fame, but with a twist, he is a monkey in the movie. This is explained, as Robbie says he always saw himself as less evolved than those around him. The film was met with great critical acclaim, currently certified fresh with an impressive 90% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and holding an 88% audience score as well. The film was also acknowledged at the 2025 Academy Awards (Oscars), with a nomination for vest visual effects for the motion capture work of Robbie Williams.

It was released in Australia on New Years Day and a release in the United States followed, unfortunately failing to catch-on, and under-performing at the box office, however, since its big-screen release, it has gained a fair amount of traction with people starting to pick-up on its genius. The musical biopic sub-genre has become crowded in recent years with ‘Back To Black’ (the Amy Winehouse film), Bob Marley, One Love  failing to perform critically, resulting in tired tropes and a sameness in execution. There have been some exceptions to this rule, with ‘Rocket Man’ and Bohemian Rhapsody, both proving to be huge hits both commercially and critically. ‘Better Man’ plays with the formula of the typical biopic, providing a self-deprecating look into its subject, that feels honest and poignant.

The film follows Robbie from a young age, showing his desire to be a rockstar and the trials and tribulations of getting there. His rise to fame happens at the age of 15, so we get the trials and tribulations of being thrown into the spotlight at such a young age and how Robbie deals with that. The film does a great job, of highlighting how the limelight can have its downside. Its not all glitz and glamour, there is a massive sacrifice you have make if you want to be a celebrity and the film highlights this in sombre and realistic manner, even though there is a heightened level of fantasy present. It’s all really well done.

The performance as well is fantastic from Jonno Davis, who takes on the motion-capture work for Williams as the monkey. Robbie, of course voices himself, and provides lead vocals for his songs. Whilst it may appear distracting on the offset of the film, it is in fact well done and I don’t think it would work as well as it does without the commitment of Williams and Davis. The emotion behind the mo-cap performance is present, adding a level of humility and pain that I wasn’t expecting from the film. We’ve seen several motion-capture performances in recent years that are worthy of praise and accolades and this dual role here is another great case to advocate for this.

The other real strengths lie in Michael Gracey’s stellar direction. He showed us what he was capable of behind the camera with ‘The Greatest Showman’ in 2017, showing his flare for extravagant set-pieces and gorgeous set-design. But here, with a smaller budget, he showcases his ability to create some truly gorgeous and memorable set-pieces, using limited locations, but ingenuity and pure creativity to make each scene come to life. The film is also superbly edited, with some of the best scene transitions I have seen in recent years. We have an amazing set-piece, set to ‘Rock DJ’, which may be the highlight of the film, but there is also some great scenes set to other Robbie Williams classic tracks, transitioning to different locations, creating genuine heartfelt emotion. The films editing team deserved recognition at the Academy Awards this year, it’s a real shame they didn’t receive a nomination.

Overall, ‘Better Man’ was a superb biopic. Its rich in creativity, with each scene and set piece oozing with style, but never sacrificing the substance. The musical numbers are superb and among my favourites put to screen in recent years. The cast are fantastic, with the motion-capture performance being one of the films highlights. Michael Gracey is a superb talent behind the camera, and I can’t wait to see him tackle other films in the genre. Be sure to secure your copy on DVD or Blu-Ray from Sanity today, you won’t want to miss out on this modern day musical masterpiece.

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Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here