CANADIAN FILM WEEK

Over the years, there have been several films that tackle the use of sex as a substitute for emotional connection, as well as those that focus on the transactional nature of sexual relationships. Sook-Yin Lee’s “Paying for It,” while another entry to this list of films, somehow breathes fresh air to the narrative device, and in doing so succeeds in spades. For one, this adaptation of Chester Brown’s graphic memoir (a provocative and personal account of Brown’s experiences with paying for sex) benefits from a female perspective that the source material sorely lacked. More importantly, however, the director used to be the cartoonist’s real-life ex-partner; and since their breakup figures prominently in the story, Lee’s point of view adds more depth and dimension than what the graphic novel explored on a surface level.  – The Movie Buff

“It doesn’t matter which prism you view Lee’s film through — they all intersect and add up together so seamlessly and confidently that you can choose your own adventure without sacrificing the whole.”  The Globe & Mail