But why is he a monkey?
The gimmick grabs the attention, obviously, flashing a quirky eccentricity in furry neon.
(See:the Bob Dylan paeanplaying on the screen next door for more).
One imagines Williams embraces this whimsical flourish partially because it reinforces the self-deprecating image the singer paints of himself.
And the most impressive thing about the Weta effects is how quickly they come to appear as natural.
The viewing eye eventually forgets to look for the wires.
Peter trains his son to believe that you are either born with it or not.
Frank Sinatra had it.
This is presumably the kernel of Roberts desperate need to kindly, and to punish the animal within.
But the intelligence ofBetter Mans script is how flippant it is.
Mostly though it benefits from the obvious novelty of the effects.
He also provided us with a film that is often, if inconsistently, audacious and worthwhile.
It even looks spectacular during the bits where it just plays the hits.
Better Man opens in limited released on Dec. 25 and nationwide in the U.S. on Jan. 10.
Rating:
3 out of 5
