# Better Man (2024 film)
**Better Man** is a 2024 musical biographical drama directed by Michael Gracey that portrays the life of British pop star [Robbie Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/robbie-williams), represented throughout the film by a realistically animated CGI chimpanzee alongside the human cast.[1](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/better-man-2) The film follows Williams from his childhood in [Stoke-on-Trent](https://www.edgepedia.org/stoke-on-trent), through his years as the youngest member of the boyband [Take That](https://www.edgepedia.org/take-that), to his record-breaking solo career, while depicting his struggles with mental health and addiction.[1](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/better-man-2) • [2](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/better-man)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director | Michael Gracey, director of *The Greatest Showman*[2](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/better-man) |
| Central conceit | Williams is represented by a CGI chimp; Jonno Davies provides the motion capture and speaking voice, and Williams narrates[1](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/better-man-2) • [3](https://apnews.com/article/9ca28b42129e502c30171b118004d9d4) |
| Running time / rating | 135 minutes; rated R by the MPA for drug use, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity, and some violent content; MA 15+ in Australia[3](https://apnews.com/article/9ca28b42129e502c30171b118004d9d4) • [1](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/better-man-2) |
| Release | US limited release December 25, 2024, wide release January 10, 2025; UK and Ireland from December 26, 2024[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVeH5T4wxkE) • [5](https://www.timeout.com/movies/better-man-review-2024) |
| Country of origin | United States, Australia, China, UK, and France[1](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/better-man-2) |
| Box office | Worldwide $22,549,151, of which $1,983,648 (8.8%) came from the domestic market[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt14260836/) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 77 ("Generally Favorable") from 42 critic reviews, 88% positive[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/better-man/) |
| Awards | 14 wins and 47 nominations, including AACTA Awards for Best Film, Best Direction, and Best Lead Actor, and an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14260836/awards/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and structure
The film is based on Williams's own story, described by Paramount as his meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence, and is told from Williams's perspective with his narration.[2](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/better-man) It opens with his working-class childhood in Stoke-on-Trent, under the shadow of his crooning father, and proceeds through his unhappy years in Take That, the break from the band, a relationship with [All Saints](https://www.edgepedia.org/all-saints-group) singer [Nicole Appleton](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicole-appleton), and his solo career, culminating in a performance of "My Way" at the [Royal Albert Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-albert-hall).[5](https://www.timeout.com/movies/better-man-review-2024) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/dec/25/better-man-review-robbie-williams-becomes-cgi-chimp-in-surreal-biopic)
**The chimp device.** Williams had described himself in interviews as feeling like a performing monkey, and director Michael Gracey treated that comment as the key to Williams's conflicted relationship with celebrity and his compulsion to perform.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/dec/28/better-man-review-robbie-williams-monkeys-around-in-a-raw-and-emotional-biopic) • [11](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/better-man-robbie-williams-film-review) Williams also appears in the cast credits, and his own catalog supplies the music, including songs such as "Let Me Entertain You" and "[Angels](https://www.edgepedia.org/angels-robbie-williams-song)" from his 1997 album *Life Thru a Lens*.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/better-man/) • [12](https://los40.com/2024/11/19/better-man-robbie-williams-se-convierte-en-mono-para-protagonizar-su-pelicula-biografica/)
## Production
Gracey, an Australian filmmaker who began his career as an animator, commercials director, and visual effects designer, approached major studios with the concept of a Robbie Williams biopic featuring a CGI chimp as its central character and was met with a healthy degree of skepticism.[13](https://www.whistlerfilmfestival.com/assets/PROGRAM-GUIDE/WFF24_ProgramGuide-compressed.pdf) • [14](https://vicscreen.vic.gov.au/images/uploads/Marketing/VicScreen_-_Annual_Report_2024-25.pdf) The film was shot in Australia; it was the first production to use Docklands Studios Melbourne's Sound Stage 6, with VicScreen among the production companies.[1](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/better-man-2) • [14](https://vicscreen.vic.gov.au/images/uploads/Marketing/VicScreen_-_Annual_Report_2024-25.pdf) The screenplay is credited to Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, and Michael Gracey, and the producers are Paul Currie, Jules Daly, Gracey, Coco Xiaolu Ma, and Craig McMahon.[1](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/better-man-2) • [5](https://www.timeout.com/movies/better-man-review-2024)
The film premiered at the 2024 [Telluride Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/telluride-film-festival) and screened at the 2024 [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) before its commercial release.[15](https://www.iffigoa.org/public/images/MediaPdf/55th-IFFI-Catalogue_Website_Single%20page_Updated.pdf) • [16](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/better-man-40264/) Its Australian premiere took place at a red-carpet screening in Melbourne in December 2024, and in early 2025 Williams gave a free concert to 10,000 fans at Federation Square to celebrate the cinema release.[14](https://vicscreen.vic.gov.au/images/uploads/Marketing/VicScreen_-_Annual_Report_2024-25.pdf)
## Reception and awards
Critics broadly responded well. The film's Metacritic score of 77 rests on 42 reviews, of which 37 were positive and 5 mixed.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/better-man/) Time Out awarded five stars, with critic Kaleem Aftab, a film critic and festival director, calling the chimp casting one of the most inspired bits of casting of the year and the film fun, bombastic, brilliantly choreographed, and totally enthralling.[5](https://www.timeout.com/movies/better-man-review-2024) Peter Bradshaw of *The Guardian* made it his film of the week, reading it as a candid look at the destructive force of envy in Williams's career while questioning the choice of a CGI chimpanzee.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/dec/25/better-man-review-robbie-williams-becomes-cgi-chimp-in-surreal-biopic) A second Guardian review, by Wendy Ide, judged that the synthetic ape device transforms what would otherwise be a routine rock biopic, infusing the story with humor, mischief, and unpredictability.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/dec/28/better-man-review-robbie-williams-monkeys-around-in-a-raw-and-emotional-biopic)
**Box office.** The film earned $22,549,151 worldwide, of which $1,983,648 came from the domestic United States market, where Williams never gained the traction he enjoys in Britain.[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt14260836/) • [3](https://apnews.com/article/9ca28b42129e502c30171b118004d9d4) The United Kingdom was the largest single market at $7,846,673, followed by Australia at $3,309,947 and Mexico at $1,934,692.[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt14260836/)
Awards recognition concentrated in Australia. At the 2025 [AACTA Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/aacta-awards) the film won Best Film, Best Direction in Film, Best Lead Actor in Film for Jonno Davies, and Best Supporting Actor in Film for Damon Herriman, and it also won the AACTA International Awards for Best Film and Best Direction.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14260836/awards/) Overall the film recorded 14 wins and 47 nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Achievement in Visual Effects for Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, and Peter Stubbs, and a Film Critics Circle of Australia award for Best Supporting Actor for Herriman.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14260836/awards/)
## Context
The chimp conceit places Better Man in the company of other recent biopics that replace the traditional actor-as-lookalike format with something stranger; reviewers compared it to *Piece by Piece*, the 2024 [Pharrell Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/pharrell-williams) biopic told in Lego animation.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/dec/28/better-man-review-robbie-williams-monkeys-around-in-a-raw-and-emotional-biopic) • [17](https://time.com/7205825/robbie-williams-better-man-take-that-gary-barlow-oasis-interview/) It also arrived amid a run of lauded music biopics that reviewers measured it against, including *Rocketman* and *Bohemian Rhapsody*, with Time Out placing Better Man ahead of both.[5](https://www.timeout.com/movies/better-man-review-2024) The film underscores a paradox in Williams's career, which has produced 14 UK number-one singles and the third-most UK number-one albums of any musician, behind only [The Beatles](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beatles) and [The Rolling Stones](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-rolling-stones), yet has never found a comparable American audience.[3](https://apnews.com/article/9ca28b42129e502c30171b118004d9d4) • [5](https://www.timeout.com/movies/better-man-review-2024)
## References
1. [Better Man, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/better-man-2)
2. [Better Man, Paramount Pictures](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/better-man)
3. [Movie Review: Robbie Williams has always lived to entertain. In 'Better Man,' he's still doing it, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/9ca28b42129e502c30171b118004d9d4)
4. [Better Man | Official Trailer (2024 Movie), Paramount Pictures on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVeH5T4wxkE)
5. [Better Man review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/better-man-review-2024)
6. [Better Man (2024), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt14260836/)
7. [Better Man Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/better-man/)
8. [Better Man (2024) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14260836/awards/)
9. [Better Man review, The Guardian (Peter Bradshaw)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/dec/25/better-man-review-robbie-williams-becomes-cgi-chimp-in-surreal-biopic)
10. [Better Man review, The Guardian (Wendy Ide)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/dec/28/better-man-review-robbie-williams-monkeys-around-in-a-raw-and-emotional-biopic)
11. [Better Man movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/better-man-robbie-williams-film-review)
12. ['Better Man': Robbie Williams se convierte en mono, LOS40](https://los40.com/2024/11/19/better-man-robbie-williams-se-convierte-en-mono-para-protagonizar-su-pelicula-biografica/)
13. [Whistler Film Festival 2024 Program Guide](https://www.whistlerfilmfestival.com/assets/PROGRAM-GUIDE/WFF24_ProgramGuide-compressed.pdf)
14. [VicScreen Annual Report 2024–25](https://vicscreen.vic.gov.au/images/uploads/Marketing/VicScreen_-_Annual_Report_2024-25.pdf)
15. [55th IFFI Catalogue](https://www.iffigoa.org/public/images/MediaPdf/55th-IFFI-Catalogue_Website_Single%20page_Updated.pdf)
16. [Better Man, Screen Australia](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-guide/better-man-40264/)
17. [Robbie Williams Would Like to Reintroduce Himself, Time](https://time.com/7205825/robbie-williams-better-man-take-that-gary-barlow-oasis-interview/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Documentary and biographical films › Biographical films of musicians, artists, and writers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license