In real life, we don’t really imagine him as a solitary person who seeks to isolate himself to protect himself from others. Pier-Luc Funk nevertheless recognized himself in the theme of urban solitude addressed in the film You are not alone.
In this first feature film by directors Marie-Hélène Viens and Philippe Lupien, the 30-year-old actor slips into the shoes of Léo, a pizza delivery man who has chosen to work night shifts to better isolate himself from the rest of the world. His meeting with Rita (Marianne Fortier), another lonely soul, will bring a little light and hope into his life.
“What really came to touch me [dans cette histoire]it’s Léo’s sensitivity which, I found, was very similar to me in something that I don’t show to people, confides Pier-Luc Funk in an interview with Journal.
“When we know that Marie-Hélène [Viens] wrote the film with me in mind, I still find that fucké that someone who doesn’t know me manages to see a side in me that I don’t show and that I thought was well hidden.
“It’s a role where I feel like I’m open-hearted and which allows me to show a little-known side of me. And it’s written with so much precision and accuracy.”
Tinted with science fiction elements, through a mysterious character of a taxi driver in search of lonely souls (François Papineau), You are not alone addresses the problem of loneliness and more precisely this reflex of wanting to isolate oneself to protect oneself emotionally or physically.
“The best defense mechanism is often to tell myself that if I don’t leave the house, I won’t get hurt and I won’t disappoint the people I meet,” observes Pier-Luc Funk. That’s true, but at the same time, if you don’t leave the house, you’re also going to miss out on a lot of great deals.
“When things are bad, it’s easy to fall into solitude and isolate yourself. But it can be worth taking the risk of getting hurt to experience great things. The film tells the story of a guy who makes the decision to kick himself in the ass and tells himself that maybe it’s worth giving himself a chance.”
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Helene on ukulele
For a key scene in the film, Pier-Luc Funk had a particular challenge: singing the song Helene by Roch Voisine accompanying himself on the ukulele. It seems that his many hours of rehearsal to suffer through his fingertips have borne fruit: Roch Voisine himself (who also appears in the film) would have been seduced by his interpretation of his great success.
“I don’t want to brag, but after seeing the film, he said to Marie-Hélène and Philippe: you will tell Pier-Luc that his version ofHelene is very beautiful. So I got Roch’s seal of approval!” the actor rejoiced.
The movie You are not alone hits theaters on October 18. It will also be screened on October 15 and 16 at the Festival du nouveau cinéma.
