Piece by piece movie review

Biographical films about pop stars, regardless of whether they are documentaries or feature films, usually follow a clear pattern that is characterized by talking heads and tells of their rise and fall. This can quickly become boring, even if you actually like the artist. It's all the better that a new era of music films now seems to have begun – and two films are being released within a short space of each other that break new ground, not in terms of content, but in terms of style:

One is the Robbie Williams biopic “Better Man,” in which the singer is portrayed by a CGI monkey, and the other is “Piece By Piece“, a documentary about the producer and singer Pharrell Williamswhich was filmed as a LEGO movie. At first glance, this may seem like little more than a nice gimmick, but under the direction of Morgan Neville, a potentially conventional musician biography becomes an ever-surprising film.

If Batman gets his own LEGO movie, why not Pharrell Williams too?

If Batman gets his own LEGO movie, why not Pharrell Williams too?

Pharrell Williams was born in 1973 in tranquil Virginia Beach on the American East Coast. He grew up middle class and met Chad Hugo in high school, with whom he formed The Neptunes. The successful producer Teddy Riley quickly recognized the talent of the duo, who were soon producing songs for stars such as Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Missy Elliot and Snoop Dogg. Pharrell also enjoyed great success as a singer, worked with the legendary electronic duo Daft Punk and was nominated for an Oscar for the mega hit “Happy”. His striking clothing also made him a style icon and he now even works as head designer at Louis Vuitton.

A life full of successes, peppered with well-known songs and even better-known stars. It's no wonder that Pharrell Williams was asked years ago if it wasn't time for a documentary about his life. But Williams wouldn't be one of the most creative, versatile artists of our time if he had simply agreed to a conventional project. Since he was given complete freedom, Williams made an unusual and creative decision: a few years ago, his wife had given birth to triplets who played intensively with LEGO – and so he came up with the idea of ​​shooting the entire film in LEGO . Of course not in the classic stop-motion technique that the White Stripes used for their famous video for “Fell In Love With A Girl”, but in the animated form of the successful “The LEGO Movie” films.

Restraint when it comes to sex, drugs & rock'n'roll

Since every LEGO film is of course also an advertisement for LEGO, the toy manufacturer did not hesitate to produce LEGO figures especially for the film that not only look like the many stars that Williams constantly crosses paths with, but also the various ones Skin tones and hairstyles that have long been part of everyday life in society, but not (yet) in a LEGO box. You can see likenesses of Gwen Stefani, Jay-Z and Snoop Dog hanging out in music studios or on fat yachts. However, always in a version suitable for young people, which is almost a shame given the not necessarily subtle and reserved music business. You won't find such excesses here as in the NWA film “Straight Outta Compton”. And even though several of Pharrell's music videos are beautifully recreated in LEGO, the legendary 18+ version of the mega hit “Blurred Lines” is unfortunately not included.

At least the song is played, even if Pharrell Williams has now distanced himself from the lyrics, which are perceived as sexist – one of the very few scandals in an otherwise perfectly white life. Williams' life has been so smooth so far that it almost seems a little boring. A few doubts about your success and your own perfectionism, but there are no more abysses. It is therefore all the more welcome that “Piece By Piece” is, thanks to its special form, more than a typical series of talking heads of well-known people who express themselves euphorically about the protagonist.

Snoop Dogg finally has his own LEGO figure!

Snoop Dogg finally has his own LEGO figure!

The colorful LEGO world is particularly suitable for one aspect of Pharrell Williams' personality. He has the ability to synesthesia, which means that he sees music: for him, tones, melodies, beats combine to form patterns and colors that dance in space. And that's exactly what can be visually implemented in the most wonderful way with the colorful LEGO bricks. Particularly beautiful are the moments in which Williams offers musicians beats that jump out of boxes in the form of gem-like LEGO bricks and make the screen shine. It is moments like these that turn a rather conventional biographical documentary into a visually captivating film that manages to make the special quality of Pharrell Williams' music not only acoustically, but surprisingly also visually tangible.

Conclusion: Morgan Neville's animated documentary “Piece By Piece” follows the life and career of producer and singer Pharrell Williams in a conventional manner, but the creative decision to make a LEGO film from the biography makes it a surprising, unusual and visually convincing one Screen event.