In a sea of biopics, Piece By Piece stands out, telling the story of Atlantis’ own Pharrell Williams. Scroll to read our review.
Piece By Piece is nothing short of inventive. From its unique animation style to its incorporation of music into the plot, this story is anything but boring. The film follows the story of producer-rapper Pharrell Williams and his journey from the projects of Virginia Beach to his rapid stardom formed alongside veterans such as Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Timbaland, Pusha T, Missy Elliott, and Gwen Stefani.
Featuring interviews from real-life figures that are important in the story of Pharrell, the film takes stylistic liberties by making a wicked crossover between the documentary style of When Harry Met Sally and meshing it with a bright and beautiful LEGO experience tinged with musicality.
Pharrell’s story is framed here as an inspiring tale of persistence and resilience, but also of patience, saying good things come in due time. Not only does he do this as his own man, but as a collaborating creative supported by other brilliant artists. Between them and his family, a strong backbone was formed in which he could set his career.
This film is a homage to hip-hop as much as it is to Pharrell, and choosing LEGO as a medium to do this is a move for sure. While hip-hop largely relies on the audio to portray a style, arguably exclusively, LEGO is the complete opposite. I think combining the two and their striking contrast works really well together. The animation itself is very fluid and allows for some great visual humour. The one issue I have with how the medium is incorporated is the lack of support rating-wise.
Musically, a lot of the film is suppressed for language and other sensitive subjects for children. To me, this is a result of the medium and how executives (or even creatives involved), view it as childlike. It’s a fair sentiment, sure, but boundaries are meant to be pushed and holding back lyricism to appeal to a wider audience is far from a good solution.
I loved the inclusion of interviews with industry veterans such as Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and more, but what really got me cackling was a hilarious little one-liner from Tyler, the Creator who cameos as Pharrell’s seventh-grade teacher.
Piece by Piece is by no means perfect, but what it is, is a solid moral tale for young people struggling to grasp their ambitions. While I found it just a simple quick and good time, I can definitely see the film resonating with many audience members.
Piece by Piece is directed by Morgan Neville and stars Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Pusha T, and Tyler, the Creator. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30th, 2024, and is now available on digital platforms worldwide. You can watch the trailer for the film below:
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