BETTER MAN received one nomination at the 2025 Academy Awards. The film was recognized in the category of Best Visual Effects. It did not win any Oscars.

BETTER MAN received 16 nominations at the 2025 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards. The film was recognized for Best Film, Best Direction (Michael Gracey), Best Screenplay in Film (Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, and Michael Gracey), Best Lead Actor (Jonno Davies), Best Supporting Actor (Damon Herriman), Best Supporting Actress (Kate Mulvany), Best Cinematography (Erik A. Wilson, Matt Toll, and Ashley Wallen), Best Editing (Martin Connor, Lee Smith, Spencer Susser, Jeff Groth, and Patrick Correll), Best Original Music Score (Batu Sener), Best Sound (Paul Pirola, Guntis Sics, Greg P. Russell, Tom Marks, and Andy Nelson), Best Production Design (Joel Chang), Best Costume Design (Cappi Ireland), Best Casting (Alison Telford, Kate Leonard, and Kate Dowd), Best Visual Effects or Animation (Luke Millar, Andy Taylor, Craig Young, and Tim Walker), Best Original Song (Forbidden Road — Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler, and Sacha Skarbek), and Best Soundtrack (Jordan Carroll). It won 9 AACTA Awards: Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay in Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Casting, and Best Visual Effects or Animation.

Based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams, one of the greatest entertainers of all time. A film by Michael Gracey, starring Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Damon Herriman, Raechelle Banno, Alison Steadman, Kate Mulvany, Frazer Hadfield, Tom Budge, Anthony Hayes, and Robbie Williams.

In 1980s Stoke-on-Trent, young Robert endures a difficult childhood, largely due to his particularly small stature and his struggle to excel at anything. During a football match at the neighborhood playground, he is picked last for teams and later faces humiliation from other children when he fails to stop any goals while playing as goalkeeper.

Stoke-on-Trent is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It is located in the West Midlands region on the upper valley of the River Trent, approximately halfway between Birmingham and Manchester. The city is situated on the M6 corridor and lies at the south-west foothills of the Pennines, near the Peak District and the Cheshire Plain.

At home, Robert finds comfort in his grandmother, Betty (Alison Steadman), who adores him unconditionally. However, it’s his father, Peter (Steve Pemberton), whom Robert truly idolizes. An aspiring singer and comedian, Peter worships the likes of Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra. On the surface, Robert and Peter share a close and loving bond, but Robert constantly seeks his father’s approval. Sadly, Peter’s tendency to withhold praise or recognition often leaves Robert feeling invisible, as though he’s a nobody in his father’s eyes.

Eventually, Peter abandons the family, forcing Robert, his mother Janet (Kate Mulvany), and his grandmother to move to a smaller home. Heartbroken, Robert clings to his father’s jacket and comb, yearning for his father’s love and even imagining himself singing alongside him.

Determined to make it in the entertainment industry, Robert (Jonno Davies) dreams of becoming a songwriter who sings and dances. However, his writing skills are still underdeveloped, as he tends to focus on what he thinks others want to hear rather than telling stories from his own perspective.

In 1989, casting agent Nigel Martin Smith (Damon Herriman), fresh from his success in the music industry after discovering and managing English pop musician Damian (who scored a UK top 10 hit with “The Time Warp”), holds open auditions in Manchester for young men who can sing and dance. His goal is to create a British boyband modeled after New Kids on the Block, inspired by his meeting with young singer-songwriter Gary Barlow. Impressed by Barlow’s songwriting abilities, Martin-Smith decides to build the group around the talented musician.

At the audition, Robert performs the King Cole Trio’s “Straighten Up and Fly Right” in front of Nigel, who is initially unimpressed, pointing out that he’s seeking to form a pop band. Yet something about Robert catches Nigel’s attention, leaving him deep in thought. Dejected, Robert returns home and confides in his grandmother about his perceived failure at the audition while anxiously awaiting for a callback. His day takes a turn for the better when he receives an unexpected call from his father, inviting him to visit.

Robert visits the social club where his father, who now goes by Pete Conway, works as an entertainment manager. His father’s initial excitement about Robert potentially joining a pop band quickly turns to dismissal upon learning it’s not yet confirmed. As Robert watches his father’s reverence for stars of yesteryear, it fuels his burning desire to achieve fame – seeing it as the only path to finally winning his father’s admiration.

Upon returning home, Robert worries about how his mother will react to his failed school exam. However, His life takes an unexpected turn when she reveals that while he was away, she received a call – Robert has officially made it into the band.

At 15, Robert is thrilled to join the pop band, gaining four older “brothers” with whom he believes they’ll take the world by storm. His bandmates include 21-year-old Howard Donald (Liam Head), 19-year-old Jason Orange (Chase Vollenweider), 17-year-old Mark Owen (Jesse Hyde), and 18-year-old Gary Barlow (Jake Simmance), a gifted singer-songwriter. Though Robert acknowledges Gary as a genuine talent who’s been performing at working men’s clubs since age twelve, he takes an immediate dislike to him, often mocking Gary’s poor dancing skills. The group eventually becomes known as Take That.

At the diner, Nigel remarks that in five years, they’re all going to hate each other but they’ll also be too rich to care. He proceeds to fabricate backstories for each member, including Robert’s. Nigel makes it abundantly clear that Gary is the sole songwriter in the band, and the rest of the members are expected to simply follow orders. Nigel changes Robert’s name to Robbie – a change he initially hates. Looking back though, he admits it was the best thing Nigel ever did for him, as “Robbie” becomes a character he can hide behind.

Nigel’s original plan is to build support through the gay scene, booking the band to perform at gay clubs night after night for 18 months. The band’s breakthrough comes when Nigel books them at a club filled with young women. Watching the female audience’s spectacular reaction, Nigel realizes he’s finally found their true target demographic. During this pivotal performance, however, Robbie begins hallucinating another version of himself, one that taunts him about his worthlessness.

Following the moderate success of their independent single “Do What U Like,” released on 22 July 1991, which peaked at #82 on the UK singles chart, a major record label executive (Dalip Sondhi) agrees to meet with them. However, the executive has no interest in boy bands, stating that the market has no demand for them. He admits that the only reason he agreed to the meeting is because his daughter is a fan and assures him that the band performed live exceptionally well. Eventually, the executive signs the band after Nigel confidently declares that these boys will take the country by storm.

Take That signed with RCA Records (then owned by BMG), marking the beginning of their rise to fame as a five-piece group. Their breakthrough came with their cover of “It Only Takes a Minute,” released on 25 May 1992, as the fourth single from their debut album “Take That & Party.” The song became the band’s first top-10 hit, reaching number seven on the UK Singles Chart.

Directed by Australian filmmaker Michael Gracey and co-written with Simon Gleeson and Oliver Cole, “BETTER MAN” is a captivating biographical musical that chronicles the life of English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams.

Robbie Williams is a highly significant English singer-songwriter and entertainer who initially rose to fame as a member of the pop group Take That. Launching a successful solo career in 1996, Williams has sold over 55 million records worldwide, becoming the best-selling British solo artist in the UK and a top non-Latino artist in Latin America. He boasts a record 18 Brit Awards, six top 100 UK albums, and a Guinness World Record for ticket sales, solidifying his cultural impact and enduring popularity, further evidenced by his induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame, recognition in his hometown of Stoke-on-Trent, and chart-topping hits like “Angels” and “She’s the One.”

Though based on the life of Robbie Williams (born Robert Peter Williams), the film takes an unconventional approach by using a CG-animated anthropomorphic chimpanzee as its protagonist rather than a human actor.

This bold creative choice sets the film apart while making Williams’ character particularly memorable. The life-like CGI chimpanzee captivates viewers throughout, rendering seamless transitions between different periods of his life – from childhood through adolescence to adulthood – eliminating the need to cast different actors for each stage of his life, as most biopics typically do.

I like how the film cleverly incorporates Robbie Williams’ songs into the narrative to heighten emotions and deepen the impact of key moments, even though some of these songs don’t always align with the actual timeline or reality of their original release.

One scene I particularly love is the Rock DJ sequence, which feels surreal as Robbie sings and dances alongside his Take That bandmate. They’re joined by the entire town, creating the vibe of a multi-million-dollar music video. While “Rock DJ” wasn’t actually released until 2000, well after Robbie’s departure from Take That, this scene serves its energetic purpose.

The Knebworth concert sequence stands as the film’s most spectacular achievement, not only for its stunning recreation of the festival but for what follows – one of the narrative’s most powerful moments. Here, we witness chimpanzee Robbie confronting his depression and intrusive thoughts, which materialize as various versions of himself from the past. This deeply poignant scene effectively visualizes his internal struggle through the film’s unique animated approach.

BETTER MAN premiered at Telluride Film Festival on 30 August 2024. The film was theatrically released in the United Kingdom and Australia on 26 December. It had a limited theatrical release in the United States on 25 December 2024 before a wider release on 10 January 2025.

ベター・マン (BETTER MAN) is set to release in Japan on 28 March 2025.

Performers College Students and Graduates appear in viral Better Man ‘Rock DJ’ Scene
One of the highlights of the new Robbie Williams biographical film Better Man is an ambitious dance sequence set to his iconic track ‘Rock DJ’, captured along London’s prestigious Regent Street in the West End. The scene, which director Michael Gracey orchestrated across four nights in 2023, incorporates around five hundred professional dancers performing alongside a computer-generated primate which represents Robbie himself. The sequence features extensive choreography and edited to appear as one continuous shot – culminating in a massive crowd of real dancers. These included over eighty-nine Performers College students, the majority of which were still studying at the time and were recruited through an in-college opportunity.