In Theaters 01.30.2026 or Watch at Home 05.01.2026

Paying For It

Directed by Sook-Yin Lee
Film Movement
2024
85 Minutes
Canada
English
Comedy
Not Rated
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Chester, a cartoonist, and Sonny, a TV host - are a long-term, committed romantic couple. When Sonny introduces the idea of opening up their relationship, Chester begins paying for sex, forcing him to face his issues with intimacy and romance in the process.
 
Based on the best-selling graphic novel by acclaimed alternative-cartoonist Chester Brown, Paying For It is a “provocative, hilarious and heartfelt” (The Globe and Mail) personal take on romance and relationships. From writer/director Sook-Yin Lee, the film “displays a maturity and thoughtfulness (...) in the messy contradictions we may hold about love” (RogerEbert.com).

Director & Cast

  • Director: Sook-Yin Lee
  • Starring: Emily Lê
  • Starring: Dan Beirne​​
  • Starring: Andrea Werhun​​

Where to Watch

Apple TV Fandango At Home

Trailer

Photos

Reviews

  • "Provocative, hilarious and heartfelt."
    Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail
  • "[A] poignant examination of the complexity of romantic relationships."
    Ricky Archuleta, Film Threat
  • "Displays a maturity and thoughtfulness (...) revels in the messy contradictions we may hold about love. It’s evident that Lee is already a master of tension and finding humor within people’s inconsistencies...."
    Zachary Lee, RogerEbert.com
  • "Lee and co-writer Joanne Sarazen do an admirable job of depicting – and destigmatising – the ins-and-outs of urban sex work...."
    Adam Nayman, Sight & Sound
  • "Lee doesn’t sugarcoat the reality of polyamory, nor does she hide Sonny’s own unexplored jealousy. Onscreen, Lee casts Chester as the more sympathetic character, emphasizing his patience and care for her even when she’s at her messiest. That emotional imbalance drives the story toward its poignant conclusion."
    Chris Azzopardi, The New York Times
  • "With a distinctive voice that captures the contrasting desire for companionship with strictly carnal, no-strings-attached intimacy, the biggest triumph of “Paying For It” is the empathy it shows the sex workers themselves"
    Ally Johnson, The Playlist
  • "Quirky, thought-provoking and often explicit."
    Joan MacDonald, Forbes
  • "A welcome surprise and a revelation. “Paying For It" isn’t the movie you’d expect. But, it’s one you might love."
    Kristy Strouse, Film Inquiry
  • "A provocative new film, ‘Paying for It,’ takes an unflinching look at sex work and love...."
    Peter Howell, Toronto Star
  • "Sweet, wry, provocative and wonderful...."
    Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail
  • "[T]he movie humanizes the story and presents the Sook-Yin character and Brown himself – as well as the sex workers – as real people, and likable ones at that."
    Heidi MacDonald, Comics Beat
  • "PAYING FOR IT is a tremendous effort that honors Brown’s source novel while digging deeper into its subtext. By further developing these characters and emphasizing the female gaze, Lee provides a compelling narrative that neither glamorizes nor denigrates the women Chester encounters...It gives a voice to the unheard and a face to the rights of sex workers, resulting in a story that is as intellectually provocative as it is emotionally tender..."
    Ricky Archuleta, Film Threat
  • "Lee’s movie both adapts Brown’s “comic-strip memoir” and builds on it, giving the story emotional expressiveness that the cartoonist deliberately avoided in his recounting...Though less frantic than the comedies of remarriage of the 1930s and ’40s, PAYING FOR IT brings to the genre a wistful, wry charm."
    Jeet Heer, The Nation
Winner
Best Adapted Screenplay (Sook-Yin Lee & Joanne Sarazen)
Canadian Screen Awards
Winner
Best Cinematography (Gayle Ye)
Canadian Screen Awards
Nominated
Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel
The Harvey Awards
Nominated
Platform Award
Toronto Int'l. Film Festival
Nominated
Established Producer Award
CMPA IndieScreen Awards

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