Better Man

R 2024 ‧ Musical ‧ 2h 15m

Before watching Better Man, I didn’t know much about Robbie Williams. I’d seen trailers for the movie and saw that it looked to be a traditional biopic of a musician, but the star was portrayed as a CGI ape. My enthusiasm to see the film was low. Based on its box office numbers, I guess I was not alone. However, it’s cold here in Minnesota and I had a free afternoon so I took a chance on Better Man to see if it might surprise me. Wow, did it ever! 

I loved Better Man. It is one of my favorite releases from all of 2024. I was skeptical of the CGI monkey gimmick, but not long into the movie, I realized that it worked. I was more drawn into the film because of the CGI monkey than I would have been if the lead had been portrayed as a human actor. Robbie’s biopic story is not revolutionary: boy abandoned by father, seeks stardom to earn father’s love, treats pain with drugs and alcohol, life falls apart, redemption. However, every arc of the story is made stronger with the novel approach of the CGI ape. The special effects of the chimpanzee are up to the task of displaying emotions and evoking empathy. The movie just works. I teared up during the movie and it’s not easy to get me to do that (outside of "Little House on The Prairie").

Verdict: Strongly recommend.

Image credit: Paramount