For what ? This is the first question that comes to mind when Piece By Piece by Norman Neville. This documentary on Pharrell Williams is made entirely of Lego bricks. From the first images, the musician gives a concise response. Not showing off is the only way for him to feel comfortable doing this exercise.
“I agreed to make the film, on the sole condition that we do not use the images, only the audio,” he said in the press kit. The entire documentary must be animated. » These are therefore representations of Pharrell Williams and his loved ones which tell the story of the star.
Music in bricks
Morgan Neville, renowned documentary filmmaker and Oscar winner for 20 Feet From Stardomput its expertise at the service of this atypical project. “The Legos are a real metaphor for everything that happens in the film,” he explains. It’s not just a fad, but something that totally resonates with what we’re saying.” Like a big child, the director fitted together the different pieces of the story by intertwining three axes: archive images, interviews and representation of the music itself.
We can definitely see the sounds that Pharrell Williams composes and this idea is one of the most interesting of Piece By Piece. It gives an idea of what the musician feels who declares having a visual approach to his art. “As soon as we hear music, the rules that govern normality suddenly begin to diverge,” insists the director. It’s really the music that triggers the spooky dimension of the film”
Well animated bricks
Many personalities represented in a very successful manner come to give their testimonies. Snoop Dog, Jay-Z, Pusha T, NORE, Gwen Stefani, Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake and Daft Punk are among the many participants transformed into Lego creatures sketched with as much humor as talent. Pharrell Williams himself did not lack a sense of self-deprecation in the way he agreed to be shown.
From a visual point of view, Piece By Piece is magnificent. The work of Howard Baker and Pure Imagination Studios is worthy of praise. We find there the mischievous side which is the charm of Lego cinematographic productions whose shimmering aesthetic corresponds to the singer's universe. His achievements are highlighted without even omitting advertisements for a famous fast-food brand.
Bricks too smooth
However, the film, co-produced by Pharrell Williams himself, remains too wise to describe his career. Could it also be to erase the controversies that have marked his career that he has chosen to only appear in the form of a doll with limited expressions? Unlike documentary, animation allows total control down to the frame.
This is where the company’s limitations lie. Piece By Piece and its bricks paradoxically lack roughness to better highlight a star that is much more complex than Lego.
