Robbie Williams review: looking back on a roller-coaster life
Netflix documentary offers a deep dive into the former Take That star's tortured psyche

"It's a boom time for celebrity documentaries," said Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph. David Beckham and Coleen Rooney "currently have their vanity vehicles". Now we have the four-part "Robbie Williams" (Netflix), a "deep dive into the former Take That star's tortured psyche".
Each episode involves Williams looking at footage of himself in his heyday, and commenting on it. Williams is pretty candid about his life ("he doesn't even put his trousers on" for most of the documentary, and is mainly seen in his pants or under his duvet). And though it feels like "an extended therapy session", and endless shots of the singer pacing around his palatial home in LA become rather deadening, the series offers some valuable insights into the costs of fame.
As a "hardened" Robbie fan, I was really looking forward to this series, said Camilla Long in The Sunday Times. There is a wealth of material here: 30 years of private footage of Williams "baring his arse", pulling faces, going on mega-tours. But every time something crazy happens, we cut back to the star, now 49 and all skinny, sitting in bed, telling us about his misery, anger and resentment. By the end, I wanted never to be in the presence of this "tedious, withered 'want monster'" again. This is in many ways "a familiar story of fame, excess and a late-in-life descent into civilised domesticity", said Nick Hilton in The Independent. But it's also a "tender portrait" of a star, which combines "titillation and pity as effectively as its namesake does braggadocio and vulnerability".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Watch on netflix.com
Sign up to The Week's Arts & Life newsletter for reviews and recommendations
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Savages: a tragi-comedy set in a 'quirky handcrafted world'
The Week Recommends This new animated film by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Claude Barras is undeniably political, but it has a hopeful message
-
Why 'faceless bots' are interviewing job hunters
In The Spotlight Artificial intelligence is taking over a crucial part of recruitment
-
Who will win the battle for the soul of the Green Party?
An ideological divide is taking root among the environmentalists
-
Savages: a tragi-comedy set in a 'quirky handcrafted world'
The Week Recommends This new animated film by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Claude Barras is undeniably political, but it has a hopeful message
-
Merryn Somerset Webb chooses five books on how the world works
The Week Recommends The financial columnist picks works by Peter Turchin, Adam Smith and Christopher Clark
-
6 sturdy post-and-beam homes
Feature Featuring a wood stove in New York and hand-hewn beams in New Hampshire
-
The Naked Gun: 'a dumb comedy of the expert kind'
The Week Recommends Liam Neeson shows off his comedy chops in this reboot of Leslie Nielsen's crime spoof
-
King of Kings: 'excellent' book examines Iran's 1979 revolution and its global impacts
The Week Recommends Scott Anderson 'easily and elegantly' paints a picture of a century of Iran's history
-
Music reviews: Tyler Childers and Madonna
Feature "Snipe Hunter" and "Veronica Electronica"
-
Art review: Noah Davis
Feature Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, through Aug. 31
-
Beatriz Williams' 6 timeless books about history and human relationships
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Jane Austen, Zora Neale Hurston, and more