Leading man in "Mommy" and "1:54", the great Antoine-Olivier Pilon makes his writing/directorial debut with this music video for Lenni-Kim and the song "Pourquoi tout perdre" ("Why Lose Everything"), a suicide prevention clip with the young singer as a lead character who imagines the world without him. It doesn't provide an exact reason why he'd like to kill himself but at that age we can imagine. So, he pictures his colleagues reactions hearing about his death being told by the school's principal, his parents turbulent and frequent discussions while the sister watches everything; and the funeral as well.
The young talent seemed to have learned a lot from his great master Xavier Dolan. Pilon creates nice visuals, a balanced use of slow motion sequences, a very suitable editing and good cast of actors - even the singer is fine as a lead. Won't say that this kind of idea hadn't cross my mind because it did, a similar scenario where you imagine yourself leaving everything behind and wondering how people would react if you're no longer there. Our main character pictures a sad and desolated scenario that seems appealing enough for someone to reflect, change his mind and avoid suicide, which is the idea of this campaign clip. Interesting concept, commendable and noble effort in what the creators were trying to achieve though I expected a little bit of a challenge for that character, something on the lines of what if he got no reaction from most people or just a positive reaction from one special person; and since the video is made of 'what if's' kind of thing it'd be more daring and interesting to follow and would serve as a great example to present a different frame of mind of someone about to follow a point of no return. As for the song, didn't find it much memorable or even as something I'd listen though the lyrics reflect the exact feelings that the leading man go through, always questioning himself and his acts.
A well-made clip that proves that Antoine-Olivier Pilon might have a solid future behind cameras just waiting for him on the corner. Fun fact: he has a Hitchcock-like cameo in the video, blink and miss. 7/10
