10 Recent Movies NOBODY Saw Coming
2. Better Man
Much as musician biopics are very much the rage since Bohemian Rhapsody printed money at the box office, and a Robbie Williams biopic makes a certain amount of sense from a commercial perspective, did anyone expect it to turn out quite like this?
Despite the obvious mainstream appeal of a straight-up Wikipedia Page Movie covering the singer's life and career, filmmaker Michael Gracey somehow convinced executives to spend an eye-watering $110 million on a Robbie Williams movie where he's depicted as a CGI chimp.
It's one of the most baffling and unexpected things any biopic of any kind has ever done, yet the most bizarre thing is how well it works.
The digital animal gimmick is a shockingly effective representation of Williams' own fraught lack of self-esteem - where he views himself as a performing monkey - while also helping differentiate the film from the many me-too music biopics released over the years.
Despite Better Man's splendid visual effects and surprisingly touching trek through Williams' life, however, it's not terribly surprising that such a madcap project flopped at the box office. The critical reception tells a different story, though, and suggests this is one musical biopic that'll stand the test of time