Celine Song’s second feature explores the modern-day dating marketplace
On the surface, a summer romance starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal sounds like a big budget studio comedy. However, adding in an independent distributor, A24, and an award-winning writer/director, Celine Song (Past Lives), makes one ponder if there’s something weightier behind the cast and genre. Materialists is Song’s second feature film, following her 2023 Best Picture nominated drama, Past Lives. Song’s indisputable knack for crafting intimate, complex connections between characters (she’s an accomplished playwright…and was a matchmaker, briefly…more on that later) is on full display in Materialists. Her skill as a writer, and how she directs her actors, distinguish her films from other romantic dramas with comparable emotional narratives. Materialists has much to say about modern-day dating, and through Song’s observant lens, her viewpoint makes for a rewarding viewing experience.
Materialists follows a single, thirty-something New York matchmaker, Lucy (Dakota Johnson), who’s tightly-controlled, celibate, business-like approach to finding a partner is thrown into overdrive when she meets a rich “unicorn” bachelor, Harry (Pedro Pascal). At the same time, almost the same instant, that she meets Harry, Lucy also reconnects with her poor, aspiring actor ex-boyfriend, John (Chris Evans). Materialists is primarily a three-hander, splitting time between Lucy’s progressing relationship with Harry alongside her deep connection to John. Supporting characters are sparse, including a handful of Lucy’s colleagues and front-on “interviews” with potential clients, with one client, Sophie (Zoe Winters) receiving a through-line of emotional beats that parallel Lucy’s evolving mindset around what’s important in a relationship and what’s not. Winters is incredible in the few quick onscreen minutes she has. Johnson’s unemotional, monotone line delivery works well for her character, capturing a closed-off, business-only insecurity. Evans and Pascal, on the other hand, are finally given meat to chew on, a departure from the big budget IP-driven roles they’ve been saddled with (though financially benefited from) over the past handful of years.
Depending on its critical and box office reception, Song could earn her second Oscar nomination for the Materialists screenplay. The film isn’t typical Oscar bait, but the story beautifully operates in a narrow cross-section between idealism and pragmatism, with realistic scenes and characters, even if their criteria for romantic partners isn’t realistic. Song’s script, which she has intricately crafted from a blend of her own matchmaking experiences and references/allusions to the works of Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, and James L. Brooks, allows humor and romance to flow naturally, grounded in modern day reality by imperfect characters and brutally honest observations about the transactional nature of dating. And yet, Song also positions hope and authenticity where these attributes can break through life-smothering romantic cynicism.
Materialists is a tough film to market. The film isn’t funny enough to be considered a comedy, and just funny enough to avoid being a drama– rather, Materialists is a romance. A24 has done well to position Materialists as counter-programming to noisy summer blockbusters, but some audiences may be disappointed by the film’s lack of laughs. Much of the film doesn’t contain musical score, and there’s no plucky side characters or best friends to chime in with moments of levity (with the exception of one inconsiderate roommate). The onus falls upon the three beautiful stars, Johnson, Evans, and Pascal, to relay the full gamut of human emotions. With Song’s script and their on screen charisma, they manage to deliver.
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Materialists opens in theaters on Friday, June 13th.
