The Cost of Heaven (Gagne ton ciel)

Directed by Mathieu Denis | Canada | 2025 | 116m | French, English, Arabic

Presented by Workman Arts & National Canadian Film Day

 

Stymied by socio-economic insecurities and determined to get a taste of the good life, a family man resorts to increasingly dark and desperate measures in Mathieu Denis’ enthralling drama.

On the surface, the protagonist of Mathieu Denis’ fourth feature appears to have it pretty good. But, for Nacer (Samir Guesmi), his warm and loving relationships with his wife Farrah (Meriem Medjkane) and their children and his strong community ties do little to ameliorate his sense that he’s been cheated of the life he deserves. Indeed, the earthly nirvana Nacer glimpses in a sun-dappled Lexus dealership in the opening scene — one of many examples of Sara Mishara’s extraordinary cinematography for the film — is clearly what he most desires. But how far will he go to achieve it?

That question lies at the heart of The Cost of Heaven, which was inspired by a shocking true-life crime in Montreal in 2012. A cautionary parable about a good person who’s poisoned by pernicious ideas about ambition, wealth, and status, Denis’ film plays out like a gripping combination of morality play and horror thriller about late-stage capitalism.

As such, it boasts the same darkly hued intensity that distinguished the director’s two previous features to premiere at the Festival: Corbo (TIFF ’14), a stunning portrait of a teenager’s radicalization in 1960s Quebec; and Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Dig Their Own Graves (TIFF ’16), a cinematic Molotov cocktail that won Best Canadian Feature honours for Denis and co-director Simon Lavoie.

And even though Denis’ latest introduces a cooler kind of elegance to his filmmaking thanks to Guesmi’s deft lead performance and Mishara’s superb compositions, it’s impossible not to feel the turmoil simmering just below the surface, ready to explode.

Words by JASON ANDERSON, TIFF