Movie Review Better Man

Better Man 

Directed by Michael Gracey 

Written by Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, Michael Gracey 

Starring Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Alison Steadman 

Release Date December 25th, 2024 

Published December 19th, 2024 

While many are praising the new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, another music biopic has my attention, one I never imagined would be as good as it is. Better Man tells the story of English pop star Robbie Williams and it’s the biggest surprise of 2024, for me anyway. I had no real expectations for Better Man. I am only vaguely aware of Robbie Williams, mostly via his reputation as a troubled celebrity. When I heard a movie was being made of his life I was a little puzzled, Robbie Williams doesn’t appear to have the kind of global celebrity that one expects of someone who gets a movie made about their life. 

And then the trailer for Better Man dropped and I was even more perplexed. Instead of an actor portraying Williams or Willams appearing as himself, a CGI Chimpanzee stood in place of the pop star. To say this peaked my skepticism is an understatement, the film looked like a deeply unserious bit of nonsense and a potential disaster. I’m so happy to have been proven wrong. Better Man takes the bizarre concept of a CGI chimp leading man and turns into a genuinely poignant metaphor for the self loathing, anxiety, and fear concealed behind the pop star bravado of Robbie Williams.

Find my full length review at Beat.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review The Greatest Showman

The Greatest Showman (2017) 

Directed by Michael Gracey

Written by Bill Condon, Jenny Bicks

Starring Hugh Jackman, Zendaya, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson

Release Date December 20th, 2017

The Greatest Showman is a musical with some inventive visuals and mostly brainless story. Were it not purporting to conflate P.T Barnum of all people to sainthood, I could probably watch it and dispose of it in due course. However, because this is P.T Barnum, one of the world’s foremost charlatans and con men, well, let’s just say that the idea of venerating him, sticks in my craw. Already this year, Hollywood has pretended that Winston Churchill was an inspiring, cuddly granddad and frankly, P.T Barnum is, for me, a bridge too far when it comes to revisionism.

Fans of the comedy/history podcast The Dollop know the real P.T Barnum. In a live recorded episode in Barnum’s adopted home of New York City, hosts Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds laid bare the legend of P.T Barnum in all of his phony, humbuggery, glory. As Dave wove the tale of P.T Barnum, from his time taking advantage of an aged, black woman whom he purchased from a fellow con man, to the time he fooled people into believing he’d procured a mermaid which turned out to be a horrifying combination of a monkey sewn to the body of a large fish, P.T Barnum is revealed in The Dollop to be a villain over and over again, no matter how willing and even entertained his victims may have been.

So, yes, I went to The Greatest Showman with a chip on my shoulder and one that remained there throughout the faltering run of witless pop anthems passing off mediocre messages of empowerment centered on a man who would have sooner been caught dead than be seen as anything other than above the people who bought tickets for his own show and especially above those who were performing for the price of that ticket.

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal.