The following contains spoilers for Better Man, now playing in theaters

Better Man‘s emotional ending underscores the character arc for Robbie Williams at the core of the film. Better Man is the musical biopic centered around UK-based pop star Robbie Williams, who went from a boy band bad boy to one of the biggest musicians in the history of the United Kingdom. Better Man is entirely from Robbie William’s perspective, focusing on the internal struggles and personal demons he has to overcome in his personal life. The film visualizes all of this strife by reimagining Robbie as a chimpanzee, and his self-loathing as vicious versions of himself.

Those are far from the only visual swing that Better Man takes, helping give the new take on the music biopic more unique visual elements. These elements play into the emotional and inspiring ending of Better Man. The film may play loose with some of the historical facts about Robbie Williams’ life, but it’s all in service to the films’ exploration of self-acceptance and personal growth. Here’s how Robbie and the other characters of Better Man are presented in the musical biopic.

Why Robbie Williams Sees His Younger Self In Better Man’s Ending

The Younger Version of Robbie Represents His Authentic Self

Better Man‘s ending allows Robbie Williams to see his younger self in a happier light, reflecting his personal growth across the course of the film. Better Man highlights the ways Robbie Williams feels like a “performing monkey” during his career as a musician, with the film visualizing his self-loathing with visions of his younger self insulting him and judging him. These younger versions of Robbie can be seen across the film during Robbie’s many performances, often glaring at him. The youngest version of Robbie is absent from many of these moments, signifying how far away from his past Robbie becomes.

The visions only become supportive in the final stretch of Better Man, which focuses on a post-rehab Robbie performing at the Royal Albert H๏τel. Listening to Robbie singing “My Way” with his father and for himself more than anyone else, the younger versions of Robbie slowly shift from judgmental to accepting and finally supportive. The final one Robbie sees represents the little boy he once was and that Robbie has rediscovered. This underscores the importance of remaining true to one’s self and reinforcing the lessons Robbie got from his Gran before her pᴀssing.

Robbie Williams’ Final Concert In Better Man Explained

Robbie’s Post-Rehab Concert Signifies His Personal Growth In Better Man

There are multiple concerts in Better Man, with the final one serving as a sweet coda to the film. Whereas Robbies’ earlier concerts were reliant on swagger and confidence, Robbies’ final concert in a much more understated affair where the musician sings from a single stool. All the blaring music, quick dancing, and fast editing at his earlier concerts played into Robbie’s dysfunctional approach to his career, as well as signifying his increasingly fraying personality. By contrast, his final concert is a much more muted and vulnerable performance that celebrates his mother and causes a reconciliation with his father.

Better Man‘s final concert also contains a performance of “My Way,” which Robbie ultimately sings with his father. This makes the concert more of a book-end for the film and thematically connects it to one of the film’s earliest scenes. When Robbie was a child, he bonded with his father over singing “My Way” in their small Northern England home. The film ends with the two singing the song again for the first time in decades, only this time they’re doing it in front of a mᴀssive crowd. This also allows the concert Robbie’s arc with his absentee father.

Robbie’s Fight Against His Past Selves & Symbolism Explained

Robbie Has To Kill Multiple Versions Of Himself During A Major Battle Scene

Robbie’s past selves appear frequently in Better Man, and are reflective of the singer’s struggles with clinical depression. The past versions of Robbie are shown frequently judging him throughout his career, glaring at him while self-loathing phrases and ideas run through his head. During larger concerts as his success grows, Robbie can increasingly see more and more of them, building to the entire mᴀssive crowd at his biggest concert turning into an army of Robbies. This leads to a mᴀssive battle, where Robbie must fight and kill all his past selves when they attack him.

The scene symbolizes the inner turmoil in Robbie, and how his self-loathing has reached a boiling point. Robbie kills each past version of himself, becoming more brutal with each brawl until he drives a knife into an avatar of his youth. The scene builds to Robbie confronting the last vision of himself, a mirror reflection where Robbie is shown slashing his own wrist. This represents Robbie’s struggles with mental health, and comes shortly before he contemplates suicide. This battle between Robbies makes his eventual peace with his various avatars all the more meaningful during the last concert of the film.

How Better Man’s Ending Compares To Robbie Williams’ Real Life

Robbie’s Relationship With His Father Took Inspiration From Real Life

The relationship between Robbie and his family is at the core of Better Man‘s narrative. The film mixes real life inspiration with dramatic tweaks for the purposes of the narrative. In Better Man, Robbie is a young man who bonds with his father over a shared love of music before Peter’s ambitions to become a star set him up to abandon his family. However, the real life Peter Williams actually left his family when Robbie was three, far younger than the cocky and talkative Robbie that appears in the film at this point.

The tension portrayed in the film serves as a core conflict of Robbie’s life, but was seemingly amplified from their relationship in real life. The pair also did eventually perform together on stage, but it was not at Robbie’s 2001 concert at the Royal Albert Hall, which inspired the film’s final concert. While the conflict between Robbie and his father does reflect their real-life relationship, it seems the film dramatized it for narrative effect.

The Real Meaning Of Better Man’s Ending

Better Man Highlights The Importance Of Robbie’s Personal Growth

The central arc of Better Man is Robbie Williams’ struggles to balance his desire to be a “somebody” with his own emotional well-being. His biggest emotional connections are strained throughout the film, a situation that is only exasperated by his frequent use of drugs and alcohol. Robbie’s confrontations with his inner demons are the central throughline of the film, with Robbie often serving as his own worst enemy. However, those relationships and their influence on him is also shown to be an important part of Robbie’s personal and professional growth.

Robbie’s desire to get a major hit song helps set off his biggest romance. His Gran’s influence comes back into play after her death, with the film referencing her lesson about his heart when Robbie is at his lowest and contemplating suicide. Robbie Williams spends Better Man trying to hid his emotions behind flashy performances and a cocky personality, but he only really seems happy when he’s at peace with himself. It highlights Better Man‘s central themes of self-acceptance and personal growth, and underscores Robbie’s arc in the film.

How The Better Man Ending Was Received

A Brilliant Movie With A Predictable Finale

When Better Man released it was met with raised eyebrows by many in the U.S. who were unaware of UK pop star Robbie Williams (which means the movie was the subject of many hilarious memes online). However, upon seeing the film, it became clear that previous knowledge of the central star-turned-ape wasn’t required. Better Man was a huge critical success and a hit with audiences too, as evidenced by its 88% Tomatometer rating (critical score) and Popcornmeter rating (90%) on Rotten Tomatoes.

The praise Michael Gracey’s experimental biopic was down to a number of factors, such as the VFX used to turn Robbie Williams into a chimp, as well as the idea of portraying him as a literal ‘performing monkey’ making the story all the more poignant. The use of the many musical numbers from Williams’ career was also widely seen as a strength, and the slick song selection will no doubt see interest in the singers back catalog increase.

However, it must be said that the ending of Better Man wasn’t singled out as a strength. If anything, the final moments (and trajectory of the plot overall) were remarked upon as weaknesses of the otherwise excellent viewing experience. While there’s a lot that Better Man gets right, many critics pointed out that the plot of Better Man was, from start to finish, a little formulaic. For example, Clint Worthingon ot Roger Ebert writes:

“Where “Better Man” threatens to lose steam is when it apes the structural patterns of other music biopics: the rise-fall-rise of his success can get a little repeтιтive in theory, as he forges his musical idenтιтy, engages in his own Lennon-McCartney feud with Take That fremesis Gary Barlow (Jake Simmance), finds and loses love, and claws back to the limelight.”

However, as many critics point out, the predictable plot isn’t really to the detriment of Better Man, and doesn’t detract from the viewing experience overall. What’s more, as a biopic, that’s based on the real life of Robbie Williams, the story didn’t exactly have much creative wiggle room. Better Man ended the way it did because it reflects the journey taken by Robbie Williams. While this didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel of the biopic genre, it was still a more than fitting way to conclude the narrative.