Film review: ‘PIECE BY PIECE’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’
The oddball music biopic seems to be a burgeoning new subgenre. There’s the Robbie Williams monkey movie and now the Lego animation Piece By Piece which recounts the life of famed musician and producer Pharrell Williams. Full disclosure, the prospect of another quirky jerky Lego movie/ product placement had me recoiling like a vampire doused with holy water but I was also a little intrigued to see how it was used for a real-life subject rather than a superhero fantasy.
I’m not into Pharrell’s music but I appreciate that he has melded pop, hip hop and electronic experimentation into a distinctive sound and has produced a number of huge hits, so I was interested to see his background. Also, this film comes from director Morgan Neville who helmed one of the best music docos 20 Feet From Stardom. While Piece by Piece offers some insights into its subject and generally engages it has little of the urgency and historical weight of a music documentary like 20 Feet.
Piece by Piece sees Pharrell in Lego form being interviewed and recalling how a nascent obsession with music took him from the projects of Virginia Beach to global stardom. Forming the group the Neptunes with high school friend Chad Hugo, he relentlessly shopped his musical creations and hip hop beats to producers before a series of moderate hits saw the duo become much sought after producers in their own right. Working with bigger and bigger names including Snoop Dogg, Jay Z, Missy Elliott, Gwen Stefani and Justin Timberlake – all of whom are interviewed and rendered in Lego form here – Pharrell went from being an eager and often ignored kid from the projects to an in-demand megastar. The pressures of stardom, including the lure of corporate endorsements, took their toll, however and it seemed his musical muse had vanished before another turn of events saw Pharrell become bigger than ever.
In some ways, the Lego format suits Pharrell’s story. It immediately imbues it with a playful sense of fun and allows surreal diversions like Pharrell floating in space with his childhood hero Carl Sagan which might have looked naff in a live action format. It does, however, make it hard for us to connect on a deeper emotional level with his story and feels a bit clunky when representing a vital event like the Black Lives Matter protests.
There’s little doubt that there’s a lot more to Pharrell’s life than could be included in a family friendly 90-minute Lego biopic documentary and it’s hard to ignore the feeling that we’re being sold a plastic toy product here. Still, this energetic and occasionally funny experiment provides at least an entreé into the life of a major pop cultural figure.
Nick’s rating: **1/2
Genre: Biopic/ Documentary/ Animation.
Classification: PG.
Director(s): Morgan Neville
Release date: 5th Dec 2024.
Running time: 93 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.