Piece by Piece

We’ve seen a few Lego movies in the last decade. From the 2014 film that kickstarted the franchise to the superior spin-off The Lego Batman Movie, which was a critical and commercial success, it’s safe to say that audiences loved that these infamous plastic construction pieces had come to life on screen. Someone else who must’ve enjoyed the Lego movies was American musician, producer and designer Pharrell Williams, who was also contemplating how to go about telling his life story uniquely. Well, how about a biographical documentary told with Lego pieces? You might be sceptical, but Pharrell and director Morgan Neville have created a new form of storytelling, and it really works.

In a similar structure to other documentaries, Piece by Piece details the life of Pharrell and how he rose to become the well-respected music icon he is today. We are shown his childhood experience growing up in Virginia Beach, a city teeming with natural talent where “something in the water: also fostered the likes of Timberland, Pusha T and Missy Elliott. In his youth, he met kindred spirit Chad Hugo, and they spent many hours together jamming and developing their sound and passion for music. As recounted in the film, whilst it was clear that the two were musical prodigies, success didn’t come instantly. They had to grind and work hard, consistently and incessantly. They formed The Neptunes, a duo responsible for producing hits such as Clipse’s Grindin, Justin Timblerlake’s Señorita and Drop It Like It’s Hot by Snoop Dogg. There are many hilarious scenes that will have you laughing out loud (eg the PG spray in the scene with Snoop Dogg), but the documentary is also profound as we learn the philosophies and principles that Pharrell has embraced over the years.

By using animated Lego, the film creatively takes what you might expect from a traditional biographical documentary and flips it on its head, keeping it fresh and exciting. When, for example, Pharrell explains how he always saw music as tangible colours that would mesmerise and transport him to another realm, the animation vividly depicts this in a way that makes the audience understand him perfectly. You might think that using Lego animation would diminish the sentiment of Pharrell’s story, but Neville was able to recreate certain moments from Pharrell’s life, such as his moving interview with Oprah about the worldwide impact of his hit single Happy, and still maintain the emotion.

Piece by Piece is an immensely entertaining, joyous and beautifully rendered insight into Pharrell’s story. Using Lego animation was an ambitious move, but it perfectly represented Pharrell’s desire to surpass what is common and to create something different, meaningful and memorable. It will make you smile, laugh, and most crucially, this celebration of a musical virtuoso will make you groove. Sheer brilliance. This is one not to miss.

Sunny Morgan

Read more reviews from our London Film Festival coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the London Film Festival website here.

Watch the trailer for Piece by Piece here: