Materialists
Materialists
Starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, Zoe Winters
Directed by Celine Song
Lucy Mason (Dakota Johnson) is a former wannabe actor-turned-matchmaker, working for the Manhattan company Adore, where she pairs up wealthy single people for a price. She is confident in her job and has a lot of success at it, even eventually pairing up "old" Sophie (Zoe Winters) with a man after she felt she would die alone. Lucy herself is single and chooses to be, deciding she will marry only for money - and then at a wedding reception she meets Harry Castillo (Pedro Pascal), a wealthy, handsome single man. He wants to date Lucy, but she rebuffs his advancements because she feels he can do better, and she also reconciles with her ex John Finch (Chris Evans), a struggling actor and caterer. Both men vie for Lucy's affections, and she must decide whether she'll choose love or money - but things are exponentially more complicated than that.
In another's hands, "Materialists" would've been a humdrum rom-com where a girl is forced to pick between two possible suitors - both handsome, but one wealthy and the other not. There would be the meet-cute moment, the montage of misadventures and goofs that lead to romance, and the final "Bachelorette" moment where Lucy stands with one rose and Harry and John stand side-by-side. Thankfully, Celine Song both wrote and directed this movie (the last film she did this for was 2023's "Past Lives," which has the same basic groundwork but also earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay), and she never leans into the generic tropes of the rom-com subgenre but rather gives a deep, insightful, poignant, and even melancholy approach that feels grounded in reality, and provides some of the best work from the three main leads.
In "Materialists," Dakota Johnson plays Lucy, a matchmaker who can't find love herself, and there's a lot that's been said about Johnson's form of acting (her only really decent work I've seen so far is "Bad Times at the El Royale"): she makes everything seem effortless, which oftentimes comes off as stiff and bored (look no further than "Madame Web" to see that). Yet here, Song utilizes her acting approach to great effect, making Lucy seem like an ethereal angel who floats across the screen, oozing confidence and intelligence, while also exposing he vulnerabilities. Johnson gives her best performance here, making you feel for Lucy in deeper ways than you'd expect in a movie like this.
Likewise, Chris Evans also gives one of his best performances as the lovelorn John, a man down on his luck in finances, boarding, and especially love. He barely finds acting gigs, he takes on side jobs, his car is old and falling apart, and he shares a small apartment with two other people. Yet he's lovable and fun, with a youthful feel that draws you in - and also draws in Lucy as well, even though they broke up years ago because of his struggling financial debt. If this was a Hallmark Christmas movie, John is the former love interest who never left his hometown and sees everything in life as an opportunity, enjoying every moment. But with Song's exemplary writing, he doesn't just fall into that caricature. Evans and Johnson have magnetic chemistry, and their relationship goes deeper than just skin and money.
Finally there's Pedro Pascal, who's essentially great in everything he does, and playing Harry is no exception. Again, if this was a Hallmark Christmas movie, Harry is the wealthy businessman that the woman meets in the big city, but also like John, Song writes him in a much more three-dimensional feel. He truly loves and cares for Lucy, and wants to see the best for her, even going as far as getting some risky surgery to impress her. Although he's wealthy, he's also a romantic, and unlike most rom-coms you wouldn't mind Lucy ending up with a guy like him - or John, for that matter.
The movie goes on a bit too long, and there's a side story involving Lucy's customer that at first seems like a throwaway moment but has a deeper impact in the long run, but even then it kind of fizzles out with little conclusion. Still, the heart of the film lies with the three leads, and each one of them gives compelling, thought-out performances thanks to another awards-worthy script by Celine Song.
The Score: A+
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