Better Man
Australian theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Gracey
Written by	Simon Gleeson Oliver Cole Michael Gracey
Produced by	Paul Currie Michael Gracey Coco Xiaolu Ma Craig McMahon Jules Daly
Starring	Robbie Williams Jonno Davies Steve Pemberton Alison Steadman
Cinematography	Erik A. Wilson
Edited by	Jeff Groth Spencer Susser Martin Connor Lee Smith Patrick Correll
Music by	Batu Sener (score) Robbie Williams (songs)
Production companies	Sina Studios Facing East Entertainment Rocket Science The Lost Bandits Footloose Productions Azure Centrum RPW Productions Partizan Films
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures (United States, Canada, France and Japan) Roadshow Films (Australia and New Zealand) Entertainment Film Distributors (United Kingdom and Ireland)
Release dates	30 August 2024 (Telluride) 25 December 2024 (United States) 26 December 2024 (Australia and United Kingdom)
Running time	135 minutes[1]
Countries	Australia China France United Kingdom United States[2]
Language	English
Budget	$110 million[3]
Box office	$22.5 million[4][5]

Better Man is a 2024 biographical jukebox musical drama film directed by Michael Gracey from a screenplay by Gracey, Simon Gleeson and Oliver Cole. It is based on the life of the English singer Robbie Williams and stars Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton and Alison Steadman, and is a co-production between Australia, China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Development on Better Man began in February 2021, after Gracey was announced as director and co-writer alongside Gleeson and Cole. Williams is portrayed as an anthropomorphic chimpanzee, performed by Davies using motion capture, and co-voiced by Williams: this was due to Williams' perception of himself as a "performing monkey" and Gracey's vision of the film as a "satirical musical". No character comments on his appearance. Williams also re-recorded several songs from his discography for the film. Principal photography began in May 2022 and lasted until June 2023, with filming locations including Docklands Studios in Melbourne, Regent Street and the Royal Albert Hall in London and Krnjača.

Better Man premiered at the 51st Telluride Film Festival on 30 August 2024 and was theatrically released in the United States on 25 December, by Paramount Pictures, and in the United Kingdom and Australia a day later, respectively by Entertainment Film Distributors and Roadshow Films. It grossed $22.5 million worldwide, becoming a box-office bomb,^[a] but received positive reviews. Better Man won nine AACTA Awards, including for Best Film, and was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards, Critics' Choice Awards, BAFTA Film Awards and Visual Effects Society Awards.

In 1982, in Stoke-on-Trent, eight-year-old Robert Williams is shamed as a loser in the playground. At home, he eagerly emulates the showmanship of his father, Peter, a police constable and an aspiring entertainer who idolises Frank Sinatra. Robert inherits his father's fear of being a "nobody", but Betty, his doting grandmother, encourages Robert to be true to himself.

In a youth production of The Pirates of Penzance, Robert's showboating overcomes his stage fright and wins over the audience, but, shaken by impostor syndrome, he imagines an inner critic who vilifies and threatens himself. Skipping Robert's play, Peter wins a talent show prize, emboldening him to walk out on his family and change his name to pursue stardom. Forced to move out with his mother, Robert salvages the comb that his father used to teach him a preshow ritual ("Feel").

In 1990, Robert writes amateur lyrics and single-mindedly chases fame, in contrast to his friend Nate, who turns down a talent tryout. Robert enters a boy band audition in Manchester, failing to impress manager Nigel Martin-Smith with his outdated traditional pop, but puts on an arrogant swagger which earns him a place. Elated when Peter reconnects with him, Robert is further inspired watching his father as an entertainer. He meets his new bandmates in Take That, including Gary Barlow, already a prodigious child entertainer and songwriter. Martin-Smith dubs him "Robbie", prompting him to invent a celebrity persona, despite Betty's disapproval.

Robbie finds acceptance and liberation during the band's unprofitable stint playing gay clubs. They achieve overwhelming success with teenage girl audiences, even as Robbie's inner critics return, growing in number and malevolence ("I Found Heaven"). This newfound fandom earns the band a record deal in London, and they raucously parade through Regent Street in celebration ("Rock DJ"). Robbie rebels against being subordinate to Gary, but cannot measure up to him in talent—even in Peter's eyes—and falls into depression. After Gary replaces Robbie on lead vocals for "Relight My Fire", Robbie brazenly steals back the lead vocals during a concert despite nearly sabotaging the show with his substance abuse. He is finally fired for his volatility and insubordination, and becomes blamed for the band's subsequent breakup. He resolves to start a solo career in revenge ("Come Undone").

Robbie kindles a romance with fellow celebrity singer Nicole Appleton of All Saints; they become engaged and plan parenthood, but Nicole relents to her manager's demand to terminate the pregnancy ("She's the One"), leading to bitter recrimination from Robbie. While Nicole celebrates "Never Ever" charting at number one, Robbie leaves to rub elbows with his idols, the Gallagher brothers, who disdainfully boast of headlining the Knebworth Festival as their crowning achievement.

Producer and songwriter Guy Chambers dismisses Robbie's superficial pop songs, but discovers the potential in his lyrics inspired by personal loss ("Something Beautiful"). Hellbent on playing Knebworth, Robbie launches his solo career, embarking on frenetic touring alongside rampant philandering and alcohol and cocaine use.

His fame skyrocketing, Robbie duets with Tom Jones at the Brit Awards ("Land of 1000 Dances") and is finally booked to headline Knebworth, but fear and addiction drive him to emotional lows. His wilful downward spiral and infidelity alienate Nicole, who breaks off their engagement. Moments before a Top of the Pops performance, Robbie learns that he has missed Betty's passing, after her succumbing to dementia ("Angels"). Trashing his own mansion in grief, Robbie falls out with Nate, who has long put up with an unreciprocated friendship. Having learned that Peter only reconnected with him at Betty's request, Robbie denounces his father (a small-time entertainer and backstage guest) as an opportunist and asks him: "You’ve always been there for 'Robbie' Williams. Why couldn't you just be there for Robert?"

On stage at Knebworth before a record-breaking audience, Robbie's self-loathing manifests as a bloodthirsty mob of inner critics, taking the forms of his past selves young and old. As the imaginary mob swarms the stage, he massacres them in an all-out melee, leaving only a mirror image of his present-day self, whom he attempts to kill by slitting his own wrist ("Let Me Entertain You").

Suddenly alone on a frozen lake, Robbie is stopped by a ray of sunlight evoking Betty's memory. Robbie enters rehab, admitting, at a group session, that becoming famous has stunted his maturity and growth. He apologises to Gary, amicably parts with Nicole, reconciles with Nate, and moves past his grief at Betty's grave ("Better Man"). At the Royal Albert Hall, Robbie invites his father onstage in a duet of Sinatra's "My Way", in mutual respect and admiration. Robbie's past selves look on, no longer in criticism but approval, as he concludes the song by honoring Betty.

The project was announced in February 2021 as co-written and directed by Michael Gracey with Oliver Cole and Simon Gleeson also having co-writing credits, and Gracey also producing alongside Jules Daly for Big Red Films and Craig McMahon for McMahon International.^[11] Later that year it was reported that funding also came via the Australian government's Producer Offset and Film Victoria's incentive programmes.^[12] The film is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Roadshow Films with international sales handled by Rocket Science.^[13]

Described as a satirical musical, the project was reported to cover three decades of Robbie Williams' stardom, from his first success in the group Take That through the ups and down of his career. The project was reported to "reinterpret and recontextualise" some of his songs.^[14] The title Better Man was derived from a song by Williams.^[15]

Williams described the filming process as "super odd" because he would find himself sitting "in make-up and the lady that's playing your grandma is sitting next to you, and the people playing your mum and dad".^[16] Williams is portrayed and voiced by Jonno Davies as a CGI chimpanzee using motion-capture technology.^[17] Carter J. Murphy was cast as the child version of Williams.^[18] Williams narrates and voices his character in the final scene. While Williams re-recorded many of his songs, Adam Tucker provided additional vocals, including "My Way" and "She's the One" (with Kayleigh McKnight).^[19]

Other cast members include Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman, Anthony Hayes, Damon Herriman and Kate Mulvany, with Williams' Take That bandmates played by Jake Simmance (Barlow), Liam Head (Donald), Jesse Hyde (Owen) and Chase Vollenweider (Orange).^[20] Visual effects were provided by Wētā FX,^[21] leveraging the studio's experience animating chimpanzees for the Planet of the Apes reboot film series.^[22]

Gracey wanted to tell the story from the perspective of how Williams saw himself. As Williams often described himself as a "performing monkey", he suggested depicting him as a chimpanzee.^[23] Williams said: "I've been a cheeky monkey all my life. There's no more cheekier monkey than the coke-snorting, sex-addict monkey that we find in the movie."^[24] He also saw it as a way to avoid the distraction of an actor playing him, with audiences constantly assessing the performance and resemblance. Gracey said: "It desensitises and sensitises you all at the same time. We have deep empathy and compassion for animals, way more than we do for humans."^[24] No explanation for his appearance as a chimpanzee is given in the film.^[23] As Williams did not want to leave his family for months of filming, he only performed motion capture for the final scene, when he performs "My Way".^[23]

Principal photography took place at the Docklands Studios Melbourne, in May and June 2022.^[25][26] For the Royal Albert Hall concert as depicted in the finale, while stage shots were filmed in Melbourne, audience reactions were filmed later using a real, on-location audience—guided by audiovisual prompts—when Williams revisited the venue in actual concert^[27] on 6 and 7 November 2022. Members of the public were able to purchase bargain price tickets to attend in evening dress,^[28] while other seats were reserved for filming certain shots. Due to an inebriated audience on 6 November, the crew relied on the 7 November concert to obtain a usable take.^[27]