Pharrell as a Lego and Robbie Williams as a chimp? Here’s how music biopics get creative

TORONTO — Many of the expected conventions of music biopics are present in “Piece by Piece,” about the producer-turned-pop star Pharrell Williams, and “Better Man,” about the British singer Robbie Williams. There’s the young artist’s urge to break through, fallow creative periods and regrettable chapters of fame-addled excess.
But there are a few, little differences. In “Piece by Piece,” Pharrell is a Lego. And in “Better Man,” Williams is played by a CGI monkey.

If the music biopic can sometimes feel a little stale in format, these two movies, both premiering this week at the Toronto International Film Festival, attempt novel remixes. In each film, each Williams recounts his life story as a narrator. But their on-screen selves aren’t movie stars …