Robbie Williams may not be familiar to many in the United States, but in his native Britain, he became a huge pop star, performing to adoring crowds and making 14 No. 1 singles.

For the past two hours, they’d watched the real-life story of Robbie Williams — a British pop singer who’s sold over 75 million records — acted out by a CGI monkey. Perhaps my fellow moviegoers needed further confirmation that the star of Better Man was,

Williams, who is a massive star in Europe, hopes the movie will be a sort of introduction for American audiences.

Robbie Williams being portrayed as a CGI ape in Better Man could have been a simple gimmick, but it actually has thematic meaning within the story.