I have no skin in the game when it comes to Robbie Williams. I’ve only ever heard his songs whilst wandering around supermarkets and like most of Australia, witnessed his electric fifteen minutes at the 2023 AFL grand final.

 His new biopic Better Man was released on Boxing Day so I was keen to check it out objectively and learn more about this modern day phenomenon.

Interestingly the film makers have replaced Williams with CGI chimpanzee. Strangely enough it takes little time to adjust as the quality of the CGI is so convincing.

According to Williams, his decision to be portrayed as a chimp had to do with him doing something different for a biopic and it definitely works.

By his own admittance biopics can be run of the mill stories and his is no exception for a rock star.

All the ingredients are there. Early stardom, drugs, alcohol, depression, affairs and redemption so full credit to Williams for trying something different.

The monkey is a fine choice for someone of Williams’ character. If he were a child today I suspect he would be diagnosed as ADHD.

I loved the early scenes in the film in his northern city of Stoke, trying to mix it with the big kids then retreating to a loving home with his parents and nanna.

His world is turned upside down when his dad inexplicably leaves for London to pursue a career in seniors entertainment, hosting events and singing at pubs.

His father comes and goes in his life and plays a big factor in William’s behaviour as he becomes more famous. His mum and nanna remain his rock.

But the turning point is when the fifteen year old Williams applies for a boy band audition. He becomes a member of Take That, and over the next few years all hell breaks loose.

I’m allergic to boy bands but there is a brilliant sequence over the song Rock DJ which is quite memorable and choreographed to a ’Tee’.

The film then goes down a familiar path and I’m afraid the acting and script isn’t enough to save it.

Williams goes down that aforementioned ugly spiral but fortunately for him he has survived and now has a net worth the size of a Pacific nation’s GDP.

I come from a generation where musicians had to work their backsides off and produce a number of brilliant records before they gained any notoriety or fame.

It’s a different time I know. It’s more about entertainment now rather than musical credibility, mind you Springsteen is one who can hold claim to both. He like Williams thrives in a stadium.

Williams is an entertainer by nature and this film explores that to a certain extent. He was obsessed with wanting fame from childhood and proving that to his dad, no matter how shallow that world was.

What we did get was an amazing array of special effects. I actually forgot what the real Robbie Williams looks like while watching this. I’ve never seen a longer list of credits for a film which tells you how much was invested in perfecting the CGI.

I would never downgrade the achievements of overcoming addiction and depression because they are serious regardless of how much you earn, however I would have liked to have seen more of what makes Robbie Williams the international star that he is.

From his visit to Australia last year, you could see a healthy, self-deprecating  and grateful individual who has clearly evolved into a better man. Not the worst film. 7/10

Also released on Boxing Day is the winner of the 2024 Palme d’Or (Brownlow), Anora.

Set in New York, a young female sex worker (Anora) meets an even younger male Russian (Vanya) at her place of work and he becomes infatuated with her.

It turns out he is the son of a Russian Oligarch and is living in one of his parent’s many mansions and doing nothing with his life.

He is dysfunctional and a party animal spending his days smoking bongs and playing video games.

Vanya pays Anora to spend a week of debauchery with him which includes Las Vegas where Vanya decides to marry Anore, therefore gaining a green card and avoiding any responsibilities back home in Russia.

Vanya’s parents have had a New York based minder (Toros) overseeing the reckless Vanya but Toros was unaware of the Las Vegas trip. When Vanya’s parents discover the marriage, they want it annulled and Toros and his two henchman are charged with the task.

From this point the film takes on an almost Three Stooges turn as the reluctant Vanya and Anora are hunted down and have their lives put in reverse.

Writer-Director Sean Baker was responsible for a 2017 film The Florida Project which I enjoyed but I’m a bit perplexed by this one.

It’s focussed once again on the marginalised of society but even for New York standards, the use of the ‘F’ word in this film was extreme to the point of off putting.

The dialogue during the hour or so of manic Keystone Cops activity that represented approximately twenty four hours in the film was captivating and at times laugh-out-loud funny, however I’ve seen better independent films this year more worthy of the Brownlow. 7/10