Better Man: Robbie Williams's 'dynamic' monkey biopic is 'occasionally over ripe'

Monkey in a biographical musical drama following the life and career of Robbie Williams

The film is 'generously sprinkled' with Robbie Williams hits

(Image credit: BFA / Paramount Pictures / Alamy)

published 11 January 2025

"As you'll no doubt have heard by now", Robbie Williams is portrayed in this biopic – directed by The Greatest Showman's Michael Gracey – as an ape, said Patrick Cremona in Radio Times.

"More specifically", the pop star narrates the film, while he is played on screen by an actor (Jonno Davies) who has been transformed by computer wizardry, so that for "every minute of the movie", whether Robbie is grieving his beloved nan in rainy Stoke-on-Trent, "performing to thousands in concert, or snorting cocaine backstage, he's depicted as a chimpanzee". This takes a bit of getting used to, but eventually you "find yourself getting swept up in the sheer emotion of watching Robbie's story unfold across the extreme highs and disastrous lows". It helps, too, that the film is generously sprinkled with his hits, which are worked into the plot "via dynamically staged musical numbers".

Two things are remarkable about Williams being a chimp, said Robbie Collin in The Telegraph. One is the fact that no one in the film passes comment on it, not even his father (Steve Pemberton) or grandmother (Alison Steadman). The other is that about 15 minutes in, you find yourself idly thinking: how amazing that they found an actor who is such a close fit for the musician. As for the film, it's "occasionally corny, over ripe and self serving", but it uses every cinematic trick in the book to create some fabulous moments.