Is love enough to keep two people together? What does it mean to be a “good match” for someone — and how can you really know? These are the fundamental questions that trouble protagonist and matchmaker Lucy (Dakota Johnson) in Celine Song’s newest movie, “Materialists.”
Song’s second feature film, released on Friday and distributed by A24, depicts the world of dating as a world of numbers — age, economic status, height: every criterion has to align.
Sharp and logical, Lucy has built a career from finding these compatible matches. When a client gets cold feet at her wedding, Lucy reasons with her: “He makes you feel valuable. Does that make you want to marry him?”
There, Lucy meets “unicorn” and mind-numbingly rich Harry (Pedro Pascal). Harry is kind, attractive and intelligent — a larger-than-life ideal of a man with a $12 million penthouse in Tribeca to boot. To Lucy’s surprise, Harry is immediately drawn to her.
However, working at the wedding is John (Chris Evans), a failed actor and Lucy’s ex-boyfriend.
Their past relationship, though committed, was plagued with financial troubles and explosive, yelling-in-the-street fights. With John’s drop of a Coca-Cola and beer, her preferred drink, at her table, the stage for a love triangle is set. Lucy’s romanticism and pragmatism go head-to-head.
Through the film, the leads’ chemistry oozes through the screen, a testament to the stars’ powerful performances. Audience members can’t help but root for both men: They also experience the turmoil Lucy carries on-screen. Where Pascal is sensual and confident, Evans is endearing and yearning — leaving Johnson to be the conflicted, compelling leading lady at the heart of the film.
For the most part, “Materialists” delivers the meditation it intends. The dialogue feels real, and the cinematography complements it beautifully. From the shot of a crying bride to a shot of the awkwardness in a silent car, no frame feels wasted. The actors feel like they’re in conversation with the audience, confessing their desires with each articulated line. The soundtrack rounds it out and feels atmospheric, dropping the viewer in the nonsensical, almost absurd, New York City dating pool.
Things feel real but rushed, as the film’s conclusion feels abrupt in comparison to the immersive world-building in its exposition. Though its one-liners are funny, inventive and nuanced, the film’s structure leaves much to be desired.
In particular, there is a subplot involving a sexual assault, serving as a necessary nod to the frightening reality of being a woman dating in today’s world. Throughout it, Zoë Winters delivered a moving performance as Sophie, one of Lucy’s clients, representing a rawness that served as a foil to Johnson’s eagle-eyed character. Still, the arc functioned better as a message rather than serving the overall narrative.
The film ends as it begins, with the tale and a rumination on the first couple in history who married. Was their union truly a “business deal” in hunter-gatherer societies? In the end, it’s a little of both — this first pair exchanged goods but also souls, tied together with a ring made from a flower.
As Lucy tells Harry in the middle of the night in one scene, “Love has to be on the table.”
Song tells viewers the same with “Materialists.” Ultimately, the film chooses to pin its conclusion on an unwavering faith in romance — not unlike the way critics are hoping Song’s newest project marks the revival of the romantic-comedy.
For a movie made for modern times — when love seems rare, calculated and automated — maybe that’s the right conclusion. It’s up to the viewer whether they believe in it.
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