From his early days as a member of the British boy band Take That to his rise as a global superstar in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, Robbie Williams has remained a bit of an enigma, despite creating a reputation for himself as a cheeky “bad boy,” who regularly said and did whatever was necessary to maintain saidimage. Few people realized that Williams was suffering from addiction and mental health issues, including what some refer to as “imposter syndrome,” all while performing literally to hundreds of thousands of his fans.
Having turned 50 last year, Williams decided to team with The Greatest Showman director (and Rocketman producer) Michael Gracey to tell his story, using some of his best-known songs along with musical numbers, and a truly unique method of having himself portrayed by a visual effects-generated monkey, using motion-capture technology.
Whether you’re familiar with Williams and his music or not, Better Man is a terrific addition both to the biopic genre, but also as a musical, since it covers all of the ups and downs in Williams’ life and career, including his conflicted relationship with his father (portrayed by Steve Pemberton), who also dreamed of being an entertainer like his idol, Frank Sinatra.
Cinema Daily US had a chance to speak with Williams and Gracey in an interview you can watch above, discussing why they chose to tell Williams’ story in such fashion. And yes, we also asked Williams whether Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis had a chance to watch the movie yet, since they’re portrayed in a less-than-favorable way considering the long-standing public feud they had with Williams.
Jonno Davies and Raechelle Banno
For our second interview, Cinema Daily US spoke with actors Jonno Davies, who did much of the motion-capture as Robbie for the film, and Raechelle Banno, who portrays Nicole Appleton, the singer of the hit British girl group, All Saints, who had a tumultuous romance with Williams for many years. We mostly spoke to them about the fantastic dance number they perform to Williams’ cover of World Party’s “She’s The One” on a yacht, which is made sadder when one realizes that the writer of that song, Karl Wallinger, died in 2024.
Better Man is now playing in select cities and expands nationwide on Friday, January 10.
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Director: Michael Gracey
Screenwriter: Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole,Michael Gracey
Cast: Robbie Wiliams, Jonno Davies, Raechelle Banno, Steve Pemberton, Damon Herriman, Alison Steadman, Kate Mulvaney, Frazer Hadfield, Tom Budge, Anthony Hayes
Producer: Coco Xiaolu Ma, Craig McMahon, Jules Daly
Production Co: Lost Bandits, Zero Gravity Management, Footloose Productions
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Rating: R (Drug Use|Pervasive Language|Sexual Content|Nudity|Some Violent Content)
Genre: Musical, Biopic
Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): January 10, 2025
Runtime: 2 hours, 14 minutes
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You can watch the trailer below: