Better Man (with spoilers)

[MrsPeterHarris]

Anyone seen this? Saw it earlier today & loved it. Took me a while to get used to the CGI monkey and felt little sympathy for Robbie during the first hour, but 2nd hour was amazing & I cried so much at the end.

The scene with Nicole Appleton where they were falling in love was so beautiful!

The original song at the end is brilliant. Loved it all!

That scene on the boat was amazing, I was in floods of tears, it was so moving.

I think the reviews have been generally positive, I do feel biased as a lifelong TT and Robbie fan, so maybe I’m blinkered to the negatives, but it really is an impressive film, the come undone scene has stayed with me, I found that so moving, the take that sequence was incredible, I could go on all day 😂 - I’m desperate to watch the film again!

Me too @Myfanwyprice, definitely want to go & see it again in the cinema & me too @rookiemere re crying. It was such a beautiful & moving scene.

I watched the film tonight. I didn't really know what to expect, but I was blown away. I think it's a masterpiece and one of the best films I've ever seen.

I grew up in the TT and Robbie era, so it brought back so many memories, but on top of that it's just so cleverly done and so visually entertaining.

I smiled and I cried.

10/10 from me.

Another endorsement here. I thought it was a wonderful film. I loved that when it ended everyone applauded.

They make really clever use of Robbie's songs to tug at the audience's emotions. The child Robbie's first song is heartbreaking and gives a refreshing take on a song we have all heard a million times. The portrayal of Melanie Appleton is just so gorgeous. I wonder if she really is that lovely irl. All the characterisations are on point - the brief appearance of the Gallagher brothers is quite funny as is the portrayal of the other Take That members. Because these aren't main characters it means that the script can get away with making warmhearted digs. We focus more on Robbie's shortcomings, but even those have an explanation, so we find ourselves rooting for him.

As for Robbie being portrayed by a monkey...it really works. It's an inspired choice because for Brits Robbie has been in our faces for decades now. So much so that he can seem annoying. The monkey means that we detach from our usual response to him. This is particularly true of the child Robbie. You just feel an emotional response to a rather cute monkey child. It's actually so delightful.

Wonderful film. It was great that at the end of the film the auditorium erupted into spontaneous applause.

I am very disappointed that this film has not been recognised by BAFTA this year. What a shambles. How can rubbish like Heretic be thought of as a better film? Absolute disgrace.

Completely agree @MaryWhitehouseExperienced & especially that it's been completely overlooked by the awards!

Also love the Forbidden Road song - amazing!

DH and i saw it last night and loved it.

I saw him at Knebworth. You'd never have known how fucked up he was - amazing performance.

We're not in the UK now, and its not on general release here. Only about 15 of us in the theatre. At the end not ONE person stood up to leave until all the family photos were finished. I thought that was lovely.

I saw this yesterday and was quite impressed. There was some great choreography, funny moments as well as sad ones, and considering the real Robbie had lots of input, it was interesting to see they didn't flinch away from the fact that he could be an utter dick. The only thing I'm not sure about is - has he really been clean and sober continuously since around the time of that Sinatra-style album? I thought it was a bit "tidy" the way it kind of suggested that he lived happily ever after, or maybe still not entirely happy but able to live comfortably with that (as evidenced by his alter egos smiling contentedly in the audience instead of heckling).

I honestly hadn't realised he was sacked from the band - I'm not an obsessive fan and I thought the news stories at the time just said he was leaving, as if it was his own choice. Bit disappointed not to see the Mark character stick up for him as I'd had the impression they were quite close.

Was the fair-haired friend based on Jonathan whatsisname, a different real person or just a composite of various people (like Jackie in What's Love Got To Do With It), does anybody know?

The friend was a composite.

I didn't realise he'd been kicked out of the band either - I thought he left to go solo.

In my opinion it is absolutely brilliant.