Netflix dives into familiar yet fiercely compelling territory with its new biopic, “THIS IS BUTLER: The Relentless Rise,” a project that promises more than just a rehash of box office triumphs. In this revealing portrait, the streaming giant shines a cold, honest light on the jagged path Gerard Butler carved through personal battles, near-ruin, and ultimate global fame.
The film doesn’t open on bright sets or lavish parties. Instead, it begins in the subdued blue hue of a small Glasgow flat, where a young Butler nursed early dreams of grandeur while wrestling with family fractures. His relationship with his estranged father is unpacked in raw, almost uncomfortable detail, exposing the wounds that later fueled his unyielding drive.
Director Dana Farrow adopts an unflinching lens, following Butler through years of obscurity and rejection. There’s a telling scene set under a streetlamp, the rain coming down in icy sheets, where Butler rehearses lines alone after another failed audition. These somber visuals cast long shadows, building a portrait that feels strikingly human.
Netflix’s production design leans into this cool palette throughout, crafting moody cityscapes and smoky backroom meetings that echo the actor’s interior struggles. Even the moments of early success — when Butler lands minor stage roles — are filmed with a restrained hand, as if to remind viewers how fragile victory felt back then.
Yet the biopic isn’t just about hardship. It gradually reveals the fierce loyalty Butler inspired in close friends and colleagues, many of whom appear in candid interviews. They recount late nights spent in cramped pubs, endless debates about art and worth, and Butler’s unwavering belief that he was destined for more.
As the narrative progresses, so does the color. Blues soften into slate grays as Butler breaks through with “300,” a performance that changed his life overnight. But even in these grander sequences, the camera stays tight on Butler’s lined face, capturing the hesitation that fame brought along with the applause.
Fans expecting a glossy highlight reel might be surprised by how much the film dwells on Butler’s darker impulses: the self-doubt, the rough coping mechanisms, the stretches of reckless abandon. In interviews woven between dramatizations, Butler himself reflects with a calm frankness, admitting that success didn’t silence his inner turmoil.
What stands out is how skillfully the film balances its cold aesthetic with undercurrents of warmth. A tender dinner with his mother, a spontaneous street performance for kids in a war-torn region while on a UN mission — these vignettes glow almost imperceptibly against the otherwise blue-drenched frame, like brief gasps of hope.
By the final act, Butler emerges not just as a Hollywood warrior but as a man painfully aware of the cost of ambition. The last moments linger on him walking alone through a silent city, bundled in a dark coat, breath clouding the air. There’s no triumphal swell of music, just the soft sounds of a world still turning.
“THIS IS BUTLER: The Relentless Rise” is streaming now on Netflix, inviting viewers into a journey that’s less about stardom and more about survival, scars, and the quiet victories that rarely make the headlines. It’s an unvarnished look at a man still wrestling with the shadows — and finding his way through them.
