‘Better Man’ trailer offers first glimpse of Robbie Williams as CGI monkey

The first trailer has arrived for the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man, which offers the first depiction of the pop icon as a CGI monkey.

Directed by The Greatest Showman‘s Michael Gracey, the trailer hints at a wildly original take on classic biopic tropes as Robbie’s most memorable moments – including his gigs at Knebworth – are seen through the eyes of a chimp.

The singer plays himself in the film and says in the trailer that he has always viewed himself as “a little less evolved” – which goes someway in explaining the unusual depiction.

There’s also a brief look at Steve Pemberton as Williams’ father Peter, who tells the young star that he must “risk it all…whatever it takes”.

The film debuted at Telluride Film Festival last month and, according to early reviews, paints a similar picture to Williams’ description himself, telling Rolling Stone UK in 2022 that it would be “blood & guts and drugs and sex and drink and rock and roll and losing yourself and finding yourself”.

IndieWire‘s David Ehrlich wrote: “You will see a monkey bleach its hair. You will see a monkey party with Oasis. You will see a monkey do unreasonable amounts of cocaine, stick a heroin needle in between the fur of its arm, and drive headlong into opposing traffic while shouting a pop song at the top of its monkey lungs.”

A review from Deadline also opened up on the casting of Jonno Davies as Robbie, explaining: “The casting concept by Gracey, director of breakout musical hit The Greatest Showman, came from an off-hand remark by Williams that he felt like a “performing monkey.” Gracey took it literally, apparently, because in pure Planet of the Apes style Davies goes apeshit CGI, inhabiting the role of Williams.” It went on to describe the film as a “blazingly original idea.”

The unique casting of Williams was previously kept under wraps, with director Michael Gracey telling Deadline: “As for how we represent Robbie in the film, that bit is top secret. I want to do this in a really original way. I just want the audience to… think, ‘I’ve never seen this before’.”

The film is set to hit UK cinemas on Boxing Day.