Piece By Piece

The soundtrack is stuffed with hits but you’re not given the chance to settle into any of them. It’s also well stocked with platitudes and you are given plenty of time to mull over these. Too much time.

Piece By Piece’s very existence is baffling, and the Lego of it all is never entirely justified, but as an unconventional documentary of a maverick musician, it works — just about.

Take the plastic away and we’d also miss some insightful flights of invention: hot new beats glow from shelves like alien lifeforms. And celebrities in Lego form is a durable running joke.

What at first seems like a quirky gimmick actually works rather well. It’s a fun watch, and the technique allows film-maker Morgan Neville to visually represent Williams’s form of synaesthesia.

This is a film that is boisterously childlike, surreal and eager to please, but also (I couldn’t help thinking) a strangely wrongheaded attempt to use Lego graphics to tell the remarkable, complex story of a brilliant musician and producer.

A colourful journey lit up with great tunes and a deep love of music -- an ingenious, infectious new spin on the music doc. Now let’s have Diplo in Duplo.

Piece by Piece truly soars when it embraces the potential of its LEGO building blocks, with imaginative visuals to match Williams’ famously omnivorous approach to production and songwriting.

This vibrant and whimsical documentary is unconventional in the best way as it takes you through the life of the hitmaker from his childhood in Virginia through to his success in music.

It’s certainly not the most compelling music documentary out there, even just from the past year, but Piece by Piece is a provocative, near-pitch-perfect match between artist and format.

The film’s final act feels rushed, but Piece By Piece is endearing, playful filmmaking.