Writers: Morgan Neville, Jason Zeldes, Aaron Wickenden and Oscar Vazquez
Director: Morgan Neville
It’s disappointing that this LEGO film, telling the life of Pharrell Williams, ends up being such a traditional documentary. The cute stop-motion animation can’t disguise a very formulaic approach to a rags-to-riches narrative, complete with a third-act crisis. The first part of Piece by Piece is also laden with platitudes about the American Dream.
Work hard, and your ambitions will be realised is the message of the film, advice first given to Williams by his mother when he is a boy growing up in Virginia Beach. His grandmother goes one step further, suggesting to him that he has been chosen by God to stand out from everyone else. When he’s given a snare drum, his life changes.
His school – the unironically titled Princess Anne High School – is a hotbed of talent. Also there are Missy Elliott and Timbaland, but it’s Chad Hugo who becomes Williams’ closest friend at school. Forming the band The Neptunes, Williams and Hugo win a school talent competition to work with music producer Teddy Riley, who has just opened a studio next to Williams’ school. Despite teaching Riley to rap, The Neptunes are never given the break they deserve. They have to go it alone.
When Williams is persuaded to sell his songs – or at least the ‘beats’ – instead of performing them himself, he’s a little miffed, but it turns out to be a savvy move by The Neptunes’ new manager. Soon, everyone wants these beats, including Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg. In 1994, Williams and Hugo form the Rock and Rap band N.E.R.D alongside The Neptunes, who by 2001 are producing songs for the likes of Usher, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Madonna and Gwen Stefani. It seems incredible that Williams has the time to design clothes, sunglasses and trainers in collaboration with high-end design companies. Burnout beckons.
The LEGO characters, endearing as they are, add nothing new to the mix to this familiar story of Rock and Roll excess. There are some slightly amusing moments, such as when a character’s head explodes when hearing Williams’ beats for the first time, and the rudimentary hands never fail to delight, especially when they are meant to be gesturing a thumbs-up, but otherwise, Piece by Piece isn’t very funny.
Williams comes off as overly earnest, too. Even when he’s discussing how fame went to his head, causing him to make poor decisions, there’s something off-putting about his manner. He refers to any criticism of his life and work as “distant assessment”. It would be better if we could see his actual face rather than the primitive pencil-drawn lines that only provide a limited range of emotions. And the section when everyone in the interview room cries is particularly contrived.
Too serious for children and too detailed for the casual viewer, the hagiographic Piece by Piece seems only destined for fans of Pharrell Williams and The Neptunes, even if they already know the story. Still, the dated Happy excepted, there are some wonderful beats to nod one’s head to.
Piece by Piece screened at the BFI London Film Festival 2024.
