The Cost of Heaven

The Cost of Heaven is a Canadian thriller drama film, directed by Mathieu Denis and released in 2025. The film stars Samir Guesmi as Nacer Belkacem, a man who has seemingly built an enviable career and family life, but who has in fact accumulated significant debt from overspending and bad investments, and who thus hatches a desperate plan to stave off financial disaster.
The cast also includes Crixus Lapointe, Meriem Medjkane, Brett Donahue, Marie-Josée Bélanger and Samir Firouz in supporting roles.
The film received production funding from Quebec's Société de développement des entreprises culturelles in 2023, and was shot in Montreal in fall 2024.
The film premiered in the Centrepiece program at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. It is also slated to screen in the Borsos Competition program at the 2025 Whistler Film Festival.

Cast

Samir Guesmi as Nacer Belkacem
Crixius Lapointe as Felix Boyd-Novak
Meriem Medjkane as Farrah
Vincent Leclerc as Richard
Adrien Bletton as Thibaud de Balanthier-Lantage
Mohammed Marouazi as Rafik
Victoria Diamond as Sarah Novak
Brett Donahue as Michael Boyd
Vlasta Vrána as Ben Novak

Critical response

Sarah Gopaul of That Shelf wrote that "as Nacer’s fallacy turns into delusion, his grip on right and wrong erodes. While the camera views are mostly traditional, there are two key points in the narrative that intentionally stand out. As Nacer goes past the point of no return, the camera rotates to reflect his unstable mental state. Viewers can guess what Nacer going off the deep end will look like, but it’s not exactly as you’d expect. The revolving perspective acts as a turning point in the story."