Robbie Williams is played by a CGI monkey in Better Man, first reviews reveal

The truth is finally out. The rumours were correct. In the new biopic Better Man, globally famous pop music icon Robbie Williams is portrayed by a CGI monkey.

Better Man, directed by The Greatest Showman's Michael Gracey, follows the former Take That singer's path to stardom and struggles with addiction. Now that the first audiences at the Telluride Film Festival have seen the movie, we know for sure that Williams is monkeying around in the film — the craziest music biopic of the year.

Gracey explained the decision in an interview with Vanity Fair, in which Williams revealed that he was immediately on board with the idea. The singer said he wants "everything that I do from here on in to be slightly unusual". Well, he gets a tick in that box for going all Planet of the Apes.

Gracey said: "It made it so powerful for me because I was like: 'You're going to fall in love with this character, this little monkey. And you're going to invest emotionally in this little monkey.' As long as you set that contract at the start of the film, you're in, and you will go with that monkey through the entire journey."

Read more: First look at Robbie Williams biopic Better Man as it confirms premiere (Digital Spy)

The question now becomes how critics and audiences will react to Gracey's audacious filmmaking gamble. Variety wrote that the decision saves Better Man from becoming another bland biopic, with critic Peter Debruge stating that Williams' "simian CG counterpart proves far more expressive than most human actors". He added: "Better Man falls squarely in that uncanny valley, and for once, that’s a good thing."

Gregory Ellwood at The Playlist said he was wowed by the musical sequences, but found that "the human element is increasingly absent" as a result of the monkey concept. "It was a gutsy and admirable choice from Gracey to go in this direction, but it eventually just leaves you wanting," he added.

Will Mavity over at Next Best Picture was less enthused by Better Man as a whole, saying the film is "not nearly as groundbreaking as it thinks it is". Mavity wrote: "Despite all the crass, self-aware humour and visual flourishes, it doesn’t do much to shake up the structure of a biopic."

Read more: Robbie Williams begs for someone to recognise him in hilarious video (The Independent)

On social media, Variety's Clayton Davis was impressed by the movie. He wrote on Twitter that it was a "special" experience and complimented the "raw honesty and visionary direction" shown by Michael Gracey. Filmmaker Jeymes Samuel, who directed The Harder They Fall and The Book of Clarence, also praised Better Man on Twitter, referring to the movie as a "masterpiece".

It's very clear that Better Man is going to be nothing like any music biopic we've ever seen before. At a time when the likes of Bohemian Rhapsody and Back to Black are flying the flag for the most conventional approach, it's refreshing to see something going in a completely different direction.

Rocketman dared to introduce some fantastical elements into its take on the life of Elton John, but Better Man is pushing it all to the next level by replacing Robbie Williams with a monkey. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes might end up losing its crown as 2024's best primate picture.

Better Man is in UK cinemas from 26 December.