The spiritual sequel to Baz Luhrmann’s ELVIS. Takes a familiar biopic structure, stretches and extends it to play into a vernacular that is only possible through the power of cinema. Where it swaps out the myth making of ELVIS, it replaces with an attempt at brazenly interrogating the trials and tribulations of one Robbie Williams. I had no idea who this guy was. Maybe I’d heard some music in passing but I was certainly caught off guard when I heard there was a movie about Not Robin Williams, then doubly caught off guard when I heard the character is visualized as a humanoid monkey. 

The monkey thing: it’s not just a gimmick. It’s never overtly explained either. In some ways, the film gives you all the visual understanding required to reach that cinematic contract with the filmmaking of Michael Gracey. In other ways, I’ve already seen enough different interpretations for *why* Gracey is a motion capture monkey that I’m more than happy to chock this one up to complete individual interpretation. 

As Gracey guides the cameras and performances through the life of Williams, the staging and presentation is remarkable. The “Rock DJ” number completely swept me off my feet but each musical bit is so perfectly attuned to the various emotions of the narrative, it was the most exhilarating musical this side of Spielberg’s WEST SIDE STORY. Seriously, I felt like I was struck by lightning during certain sequences.

And look, the fucking monkey made me cry. Where biopics commonly try to have their cake and eat it too, with an air of “and then happily ever after…” before the credits roll, Gracey takes the right approach and leaves things more complicated. Again, I can only speak for this short window into the life of Robbie Williams (which made me feel like I was going insane at times) but there’s a brazen honesty in how the film treats his victories and failures. Even at its most heightened, the film underscores the emotional honesty of its drama. The struggle to be *ahem* Better is not something that can be solved like a mathematical equation. But it’s something that can be worked toward day after day. How that battle eventually manifests onscreen had me turn to a friend and ask, “How is this movie *this* good?”

Could not believe how fantastic this was. Got a little Guillermo Del Toro Q&A with Michael Gracey after too. Great night at the movies.