
Better Man
Release Year: 2024
Synopsis: Follow Robbie Williams' journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.
My notes
Started late and only intended to watch 10-15 minutes, but got sucked in for an hour (the edible and wine helped with that), finished on Feb 22.
This one was surprisingly effective. The gimmick never really feels like a gimmick, and potentially helped with the metaphor of struggling with his own past. At least visually.
As one of the few American Robbie Williams fans, the narrative did a nice job of adding color to the surface level understanding I had of his personal life.
The ending came late, a truncated third act that immediately launched into a rewarded and solid Robbie at the Swing When You're Winning concert, which made it feel a schmaltzy and downplayed the difficulty of addiction recovery.
Biopics, especially musical ones, haven't had much to say since Dewey Cox, and doesn't reverse that trend. It is a good ad for therapy, though.