Piece by Piece is a film where form and story collide together in a fun and fantastical sense. A documentary about famed producer and musician Pharrell Williams would already be an intriguing premise. For any mildly familiar with him, he is known for his eclectic style and personality, which has likely influenced his musical talents and lead to the success he’s had. Fitting, then, that he and Morgan Neville come together to do a unique spin on the documentary by depicting his life entirely through LEGO. Pushing the definition of documentary, Piece by Piece is a heartwarming tale of one man’s dream to lift the world up through sound.
First and foremost, this is a documentary. It is not a biopic told through LEGOs or any narrative type feature. The film establishes out of the gate that it is documentary by having the LEGO representation of Pharrell sit down for an interview with Neville that’s “shot” just like any other documentary. It’s a bizarre tactic, but once you get to know Pharrell throughout the runtime, you understand exactly why Pharrell would want such an unorthodox approach to his life. It allows for fantastical representations of moments of his life, from meeting Snoop Dogg, seeing sounds as chaotic mashes of smaller LEGO bits, and being elevated to space by the music burning inside his soul. Can it be called a documentary when it is all a LEGO recreation of things that both did and didn’t literally happen? This film seems to answer yes and push the boundaries of this form of filmmaking.
One could call this approach a gimmick, but it lends itself to the life story of Pharrell. Unlike many of the musical biopics we know, Pharrell is not someone who fell hard into addiction and substance abuse. His life story is actually different, and the Lego mode of storytelling helps bring out the brightness of his life and how he sees the world. That’s not to say his story is without drama or conflict. The earlier years of his life included years of grinding it out, trying to find attention and success. But Pharrell is a very positive personality, and the film is infused with his brightness.
This is so much the case that when the film does try a second act downturn, it almost feels contrived. The nature of the downturn feels vague past a general description that Pharrell was struggling to find musical inspiration. And that’s perhaps where the documentary suffers the most. As I’ve often remarked, documentaries about subjects still living can often feel sanitized, as few want to directly confront the darkest parts of themselves. Given Pharrell’s heavy involvement, it feels like areas of potential drama that are there do get skipped past.
But the film is easy to forgive given how “happy” it can make you feel. Pharrell has a deep love for music and how it change people’s lives and hearts. The film more than anything positions his life story as wanting to use music to move people’s souls. And if you didn’t know just how involved Pharrell has been with some of the biggest hits for the past roughly 30 years, the film is eye-opening about his talent at finding sounds that connect with people. From pop to rock and hip-hop, Pharrell has dabbled in it all and brought hits for artists as varied as Snoop Dogg, Nelly, and Gwen Stefani.
One may wish there was just a tad more dramatic substance to Piece By Piece, but this is a minor criticism of an otherwise lovely documentary. Neville demonstrates that once again he is an emphatic documentarian and understands how to tap into the heart of his subjects and show the world who they are at their essence. He did so with Bourdain, Fred Rogers, and now with Pharrell. Even if you don’t like Pharrell’s music, Piece by Piece is a film worth seeing for its unique approach.
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