Director Morgan Neville tells Pharrell Williams’ story with Lego in an unusual but fun biopic. Here’s our Piece By Piece review.
A Pharrell Williams biopic-documentary hybrid, told with Lego blocks. If that sentence makes you raise your eyebrows, then that’s understandable: the concept of Morgan Neville’s latest project is an unusual thing on paper, but, rather surprisingly, it works on screen.
Pharrell Williams is the superstar music producer behind some of the biggest names in music, not to mention his own solo tunes such as ‘Get Lucky’ and ‘Happy’ from Despicable Me. Piece By Piece charts the musician’s childhood and rise to fame, with the use of Lego to tell the story intended to reflect his creativity. As the Lego Movies have taught us, you can create almost anything with Lego, and Williams’ musical abilities work in a similar way; he’s able to see combinations that no one else can, resulting in a string of hit singles.
The film begins with the camera following a Lego Williams into an interview room where he suggests to director Neville to tell his life story with Legos, to allow for maximum authenticity for Williams to be himself. After that, the film follows a pretty standard documentary structure, very competently so.
Neville brings in major music stars like Timbaland, Gwen Stefani, Kendric Lamar and Snoop Dogg – who actually turns into a huge dobermann – for your standard floating head interviews that offer us insight into what it was like to work with Williams. His character and personality is carefully crafted through the insights of other people and, of course, his music.
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But the biggest insights come from Williams itself. The musician recounts how his ego got a bit too big and he lost his way. His 2013 collaboration with Daft Punk, ‘Get Lucky’, is presented as a redemption song, eventually leading to ‘Happy’ which marks Williams’ story coming to a conclusion of sorts. His story is ripe for a cinematic retelling, but there’s also a very vulnerable side to Piece By Piece.
There’s an art to making a great documentary, but it’s even more challenging to make a documentary that feels accessible and entertaining, even for those not familiar with Williams’ music. That being said, ‘Get Lucky’ is one hell of an earworm and most of us will have heard it more than we would have liked to.
Neville’s film focuses more on Williams’ humble beginnings than his later work, perhaps because they’re more cinematic and dramatic. The film’s final act feels rushed, but Piece By Piece is endearing, playful filmmaking. It’s impossible not to tap your feet to the rhythm of Williams’ most famous tracks and the decision to showcase his beats with Lego pieces that seem almost alive is a brilliant move. The Lego approach never feels immature, but instead infuses Piece By Piece with an artistic energy that is a delight to watch.
Piece By Piece is in cinemas 8th November.
