I don’t generally bother with pop music rise-and-fall-and-rise- again biopics. The basic stories are pretty much the same, often hagiographic, and they come off as extended informercials for the now-much-nicer former bad boys’ comeback album. Add to that the fact that I’m mostly a jazz fan and have never really been into pop music, and most certainly not Britpop boy bands.

So why did I find this story about pop superstar Robbie Williams so engrossing and fun? Nothing particularly attention-grabbing in the story line, and I honestly couldn’t tell you even one of his song titles. 

Perhaps it was the immersive direction of Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman), always coming at you with innovative transitions, seamless montages, and kinetic song-and-dance set pieces that Baz Luhrmann would envy. 

But mostly because he represents the singer with a chimpanzee. 

Sounds nuts, and it is. But it works, brilliantly so. Jonno Davies does the motion-capture stuff, which rivals anything in the later Planet of the Apes movies, and Williams provides the voice. The ending is surprisingly moving. 

Fans of the singer and his music will obviously relate a bit more, but that shouldn’t deter anyone, especially fans of innovative filmmaking. Go see this movie, probably on the big screen. (135 min)