Nicole ends up leaving Williams (for Liam Gallagher of Oasis), part of a miserable time for the singer, who manages to destroy most of his relationships. But he reaches a career pinnacle, performing at the storied Knebworth Festival to some 375,000 adoring fans.

I’m not kidding. And neither are “Better Man” subject Robbie Williams nor the film’s director Michael Gracey. This rise, fall and very fast 12-step recovery saga of the English singing sensation few Americans know presents Williams as a CG chimpanzee.

It's not that the film's subject — bad boy pop star Robbie Williams — is offensive by any means, though his wry and self-effacing humor might not appeal to audiences with a low tolerance for that particular British register.

If it’s true that your age freezes the day you become famous, then the British pop star Robbie Williams is stuck at 16. So he says near the end of “Better Man," the biopic he

The film is a visual spectacle and there's heart at the core of the story, making for a balanced dive into Robbie Williams' rise to pop stardom.