THE STORY – LEGO bricks tell the life story of singer/songwriter and record producer Pharrell Williams.
THE CAST – Pharrell Williams, Morgan Neville, Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z & Snoop Dogg
THE TEAM – Morgan Neville (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 93 Minutes
Award-winning documentarian Morgan Neville has given us two compelling documentaries about interesting and even tragic entertainment industry figures, “20 Feet From Stardom” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” Singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams has produced some of the most renowned hip-hop pop songs of the 21st Century and reminded us with his inspirational songs that it is OK to be “Happy” again. But bringing two good things together does not always result in something greater than the sum of its parts, a phenomenon starkly on display in the Neville/Williams biopic collaboration, “Piece by Piece.”
“Piece by Piece,” a Focus Feature film that just had its World Premiere at the 51st Telluride Film Festival, narrates Pharrell’s rags-to-riches life story using Lego animation style. This premise may seem silly, but those who permit themselves to sink into its playfulness will not be disappointed. With the help of a superb team of animators, Neville creates a wonderfully magical world that feels both real and impossible, subtly messaging that we can all fit into the construction of something greater with enough perseverance.
The biopic proceeds linearly and with no timeline frills—beyond its already challenging visual presentation. Pharrell grew up in the Virginia Beach projects, with a regular childhood and no particular predisposition towards music, until his grandmother, the most influential family figure in his life, bought him a set of drums. He soon meets a soon-to-be longtime collaborator in school, Chad Hugo, and they soon form a band they call “The Neptunes,” hysterically inspired by a rendition of the Roman God of the Sea that sat at a beachfront food stand by the beach.
The band begins producing music and catches their big break when an ambitious record company moves near them. The moguls realized that The Neptunes’ catchy and popular rendition of hip-hop could bring massive new audiences to what was considered a niche genre. Neville later renders this unification beautifully, as he brings together two starkly differently colored worlds of distinct Lego characters separated by a large abyss. The bridge that closes this chasm was constructed when The Neptunes collaborated with No Doubt, leading to the smash success “Hella Good.” After that, Pharrell and The Neptunes take off, producing or writing all your favorite 2000s songs. The musician later breaks out on his own, culminating, of course, with the ever-present song “Happy.”
Ironically, that persistent cheerfulness keeps “Piece by Piece” from scaling any greater heights. Pharrell suffers little adversity in his life, which is also, believe it or not, not particularly interesting. His grandma’s eventual death is sad. He hits professional valleys when some of his songs do not do well, and the Lego pieces cannot fit together. But he finds love and a family. There is nothing inherently wrong with having a straightforward story of fame, but it will not make for compelling cinema either.
Quite aware of this, Neville and his fellow screenwriters attempt to inject philosophy and “meaning of life” vagaries into the last third of the proceedings. Lego Carl Sagan appears to muse about the insignificance of our existence, which is ironic considering that Pharrell clearly sees himself as quite significant, a phoenix that rises from the ashes of non-existent hardship.
There is no substituting for real misfortune or even something symbolically guttural. In Neville’s prior work, the suffering, the longing, the sadness was real even when it was quiet. The tragedy of Mr. Rogers lay in his steadfast insistence that people are good and worthy; all the while, the world was turning against him and his philosophy. The appeal of the backup singers was their dedication, their persistent belief that something else was right there for them, and their ultimate unassuming contentment as it failed to materialize.
“Piece by Piece” lacks all these elements. There is good music, a very charming central character, and interviews with a bunch of very likable celebrities, from Gwen Stefani to Snoop Dogg. As noted, the animation is beautiful, swirling with colors and riches in a way that captivates and keeps your attention for the mercifully short runtime. But it is missing that emotional core, one critical piece into which all the others can attach themselves to produce one of those wondrous Lego creations.
