Piece By Piece

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.

Earnest and inventive, Piece by Piece in an undeniable sensory delight and a singular approach to biographical/documentary filmmaking.

… pure sensory pop art …

The inspiration in “Piece By Piece” goes beyond age boundaries and is for everyone who has a dream and is pursuing it. The notion that “What makes you different makes you special”is a powerful message indeed.

The use of Legos is a disarming technique and one that has every reason not to work, but somehow does largely because it fits thematically with Pharrell’s artistic philosophy.

The narrative theory that, like Lego itself, the bare bricks of a life can be built up into something better may sound cheesy, but there's no denying the passion of the sentiment, nor the feelgood joy this film brings to fans of all ages.