I was thrilled to be able to see Sook Yin-Lee’s new movie PAYING FOR IT, as I have been a long time supporter of her work ever since admiring her work as a MuchMusic VJ, her acting and directing work over the years. It’s so wonderful to see her work continue with a new feature at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival!
The TIFF Lowdown: A cultural snapshot of turn-of-the-millennium Toronto with subtle comic energy and a great cast, Sook-Yin Lee’s adaptation of Chester Brown’s autobiographical 2011 graphic novel is a movie only Lee could make… because it’s her story, too.
Chester Brown’s 2011 graphic novel told the story of his own journey into johnhood after the dissolution of his romantic life with long-time partner Sook-Yin Lee. More than a decade later, Lee, working with co-writer Joanne Sarazen (Tammy’s Always Dying, TIFF ’19), finds a cinematic analogue for Brown’s framing and compositions — a little gray, a bit flat — while bringing his characters to three-dimensional life. The result is a synthesis of Brown’s confessional storytelling and Lee’s auto-fictional style.
Reaction: For me, Sook-Yin Lee is one of the first things I think about when anything Toronto culture comes up. I loved her so much when she was a MuchMusic VJ in the late 1990s and her movies, both as an actor (SHORTBUS) and a director (YEAR OF THE CARNIVORE, OCTAVIO IS DEAD). I have always found her a wonderfully creative and fearless talent, and I was so excited that her latest movie is not just a personal story but one that also channels a very touchy subject. PAYING FOR IT is not just Sook-Yin’s story but also the story of Chester (Dan Bierne) who becomes an addict to sex workers over the years. The movie takes a while to get going but its power really sneaks in on me in its third act, thanks to a wonderful performance by Andrea Werhun (who impressed me a few years ago with the SxSW short MODERN WHORE) as one of the last “regular” clients of Chester. She matches well with Bierne’s performance and makes a nice contrast with Emily Le as Sonny Lee with some strong conflict. Sook-Yin melds all of the movie together and the result is something that feels personal but also very funny and entertaining, and especially a love letter to Toronto and its neighbourhoods (shoutout to Kensington Market, where the movie gets a lot of its style). I also though it was funny to see the “fake” MuchMusic, especially after seeing the recent 2023 MuchMusic documentary 299 QUEEN STREET WEST by Sean Menard in which she is strongly featured. PAYING FOR IT should find a little niche in the Canadian theatrical marketplace down the road and is very much a theatrical experience.
Thanks to TIFF Media for assistance with this reaction article. This is one of the many movies playing at TIFF this year. For more information, point your browser to www.tiff.net!