Why So Blu?

Better Man (Paramount Presents 4K Blu-ray Review)

Americans sort of missed the boat on Robbie Williams.  He dropped in on us via MTV, most likely TRL, with the minor hit Millenium in 1999.  The video was in heavy rotation, however the song didn’t make the impact it was meant to.  The compilation album The Ego Has Landed was fashioned as Williams’ American debut, and it too fizzled.  We just weren’t ready for that ego I guess.  We also never seemed to realize that Williams was an established international star before that song dropped on us.  Pre-internet boom, this was entirely possible.  When I first saw a trailer for Better Man in theaters well over a year ago, my husband leaned over and said “who?” before immediately following up with “and why is he a monkey?” The question remains, was America still not ready for Robbie Williams?

Film

Better Man is 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. Under the visionary direction of Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman), the film is uniquely told from Williams’ perspective, capturing his signature wit and indomitable spirit. It follows Robbie’s journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.

The synopsis tells Williams’ story in a very compact but accurate way.  The underlying rags to riches fairy tale is right there within this film.  What is not told, is that for whatever reason, the creatives and the artist himself decided to make Robbie Williams a monkey in the film.  As Williams stated during the press run for Better Man he often feels like a performing monkey, so this was a choice to be portrayed as such in the film.  Rather interestingly, after a few moments, you don’t even realize that the monkey isn’t a human.

As we meet Robert, in voiceover we hear about early life in Stoke-on-Trent.  Robert is 8 years old and lives with his family in a small flat.  Robert is picked on by the neighborhood kids, overshadowed by his hammy and talentless father and brushed off by his mother.  The only saving grace for young Robert is his grandmother.

At school, during a performance of Pirates of Penzance, Robert finds that he can charm the audience with natural humor and a good singing voice.  This sets him on a course that will carry him through his childhood. Moving to his teen years, a more confident Robert tries out for a singing group after his father abandons the family to become a professional lounge singer. At first rejected, Robert remains confident and determined to get into the group. Christened Robbie by manager Nigel Martin-Smith, and the group called Take That, they begin small, catering to gay clubs wearing fetish gear.  Breaking from that niche mold, they begin to affect the boy band image that exploded later in the 90’s.

When Take That manage to find a more universal audience just outside of the early 90’s Robbie begins to explore the drugs and alcohol that often take over a young artist’s life when given too much freedom too fast. Take That begins to become frustrated with his boozy brashness and his dropouts on stage.  Fed up, Take That fires Robbie.  This leads Robbie to further self-destruction. Despite the toll his mental and physical health are taking, Robbie meets Nicole Appleton of the group All Saints and the pair fall for one another.

Robbie’s career also begins to come back as his first solo outing becomes successful.  With the right songwriting partner Robbie feels unstoppable.  Until he is stopped by his own anxieties. Stage fright, fear, doubt and the strains of relationships broken and loves lost, including his beloved grandmother cause Robbie to spiral, even attempting suicide. The rock-bottom Robbie experiences force him to enter rehab and make the changes to become the Better Man he wants to see in the mirror and for the rest of his life.

On paper, Better Man reads like a textbook biopic.  The read-through description has all the details: Childhood, rise, fall, redemption. It’s a story we all know and often love.  This film, carefully and wonderfully directed by Michael Gracey turns those notions of textbook on their ear to create something so unique.  From the moment the monkey-fied version of Robbie appears, you just go with it.  There’s no question of why he’s a monkey in the movie.  It’s a wonderful fantasy in that regard.

Better Man is also a musical first and foremost.  Its musician subject may not be someone the audiences in the US know, but worldwide, Robbie Williams is superstar. His music is well known for good reason.  You’ve definitely heard him even if you don’t realize.  Songs like “She’s the One”, “Angels” and “Rock DJ” are tracks you’ve no doubt heard in your lifetime without even realizing it was Robbie singing them.  And no, we can’t forget “Millenium” with its trip-hop beat and You Only Live Twice theme song sample.  It’s the earworm that hooked me up to Williams’ sound.  The songs are catchy and fantastic.  They are aided by some truly special musical sequences with incredible dance numbers and flashy special effects.  The effortless motion capture work mimes the impeccable Weta Digital work done for the Planet of the Apes films.  Obviously, Weta was the only choice for this film.

Despite the special effects and the sweeping musical aspects of Better Man, an emotional and relatable core sits right smack dab in the middle of the film.  Robbie’s life mirrors some of the same beats of any number of persons in the world.  We’ve all been in some tough spots in life. Downward spirals.  Drug issues. Family troubles. All of these situations can be universal.  To see them portrayed so unflinchingly on-screen is refreshing.  There are some really raw moments left out there during the film.  Emotions play out, and they take a toll on the viewer.  Monkey in the movie or not, Robbie’s humanity and heart really shine through.  His story is one that we can all relate to.

It’s a shame to think that Better Man did so poorly in theaters.  In retrospect, I wonder how the film will fare with audiences at home.  It took a long while for the movie to reach physical media also, and I hope those of us who were waiting were as pleasantly surprised as I was by how touching and affecting Better Man is.  The film is fast-paced, wild and unwieldy and even with some heaviness, undeniably fun.  Arriving at home with this amazing new Paramount Presents 4K edition, this is the ultimate way to see the film for the first time if you missed it in theaters!

Video

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 2160p

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

HDR: Dolby Vision

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: Paramount has done incredible justice to Better Man with this release. With a beautiful Dolby Vision HDR sheen and an intentionally “old school” look with digital grain implemented, Better Man has the look the filmmakers no doubt intended.  Color grading goes with the eras and there is vibrancy and dullness where appropriate in equal measures.  The transfer remains in the mid-range for brightness, so no squinting necessary if you watch movies in a sunny room during the daytime.

Depth: Camera movements can be fast and furious at times, but nothing looks blurry or muddy.  Details are solid during focus movement as well.

Black Levels:  Black levels are excellent in nighttime and darkened arenas and clubs.  Blacks of fur and clothing are also rock solid.  No crush here, film fans!

Color Reproduction: The color spectrum is wide open here.  From drab 70’s mustard yellows to vibrant reds and cool blues, your eyes will be loving the variety! The natural true to life look really makes those colors pop too!

Skin Tones: Flesh tones are as natural as you can get.  The furry main character looks pretty real too!

Noise/Artifacts: Digital grain is there, but it’s not a distraction at all.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

Dynamics: The Dolby train keeps chugging along with a bombastic, room filling Atmos mix.  The spacing, dynamics and bass response all sing in your speakers, giving a full-bodied reference grade experience for your setup.

Height: Height speakers bring you center stage for concerts and make small spaces even more intimate.  When things widen up, say outdoors, ambience becomes lighter and headier. The mix is locked in a static form, but the dynamic movement doesn’t feel necessary for most of the film.

Low Frequency Extension: Bass booms for music cues and concert footage.  The music is key to the heart of the movie, so it would be why you want your subwoofer to be so active with this mix.  It’s perfect!

Surround Sound Presentation: Surrounds do the diligent duty of handling close proximity ambience and crowd noise.  The near-field ambience is there also and brings things closer to the listener allowing for a more immersive experience.

Dialogue: Dialogue and singing is remarkable throughout.

Extras

Extras for this Paramount Presents edition of Better Man are much like most Paramount Presents releases.  They are interesting but not always the most information rich.  At the time of this writing, Better Man is only available in this 4K edition with the bundled Blu-ray and Digital Code and a DVD edition.  Needless to say, this is the way you want to own the film, so no complaints there! The slipcover comes with the new cover art and a gatefold with the poster art inside.  The clear Amaray case holds the discs and has artwork under the disc hubs.

Bonus Features

Let Me Entertain You: The Making of Better Man — Director Michael Gracey and star Robbie Williams provide an in-depth look behind the vision and production of the film with additional insight from the cast and crew.

Monkey Business: The VFX — Meet the visual effects team of Wētā FX as they delve into the process of using cutting-edge technology to bring Better Man to life.

Summary

Better Man did not burn down the box office like the filmmakers or the studio has likely hoped.  Unfortunately, this seems to be the way the movie business is going, and now we have to discover and rediscover films at home.  I am grateful to do the job of reviewing films because I am able to watch and re-watch films and see them, flop or not, for what they are.  Even the films I don’t enjoy can be special just because I can spend a bit of time with them.  When you come across one like Better Man that happens to be charming, fun, interesting and extremely well made, that makes the movie watching experience even better.  So, check out Better Man.  You just may be thoroughly entertained by the performing monkey.

Get a Copy of Better Man HERE