Fans of writer-director Celine Song may have been startled by the trailers for Materialists. While her Oscar-nominated Past Lives was a quiet meditation on paths not taken, her follow-up appeared to be a frothy rom-com about the misadventures of a matchmaker. People who bought tickets based on those trailers seem to have been even more surprised, with many complaining on social media about Materialists‘ darker elements. The marketing, it seems, wasn’t wholly accurate.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to see a romantic movie that’s a respite from cold realities. But I was curious to see what spin Materialists puts on the genre.
The deal
Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a walking advertisement. Turning heads as she traipses through lower Manhattan, she stops an interested man to offer him not her number but her services at an upscale matchmaking service called Adore.
Lucy is responsible for nine client marriages, and she talks a good game about lasting love and finding a “grave buddy.” But behind the scenes, she negotiates clients’ unrealistic expectations and counsels a tearful bride (Louisa Jacobson) who confesses that her match is based on status rather than love. Lucy herself has no interest in dating anyone who can’t elevate her into the 1 percent. That’s why John (Chris Evans), a struggling actor and cater-waiter, is now her ex.
Enter Harry (Pedro Pascal), who’s a “unicorn”: handsome, sweet, smart and loaded. Lucy tries to steer him to her clients, but he insists he’s only interested in her. Can Harry overcome this matchmaker’s cynicism about love? And can he make her forget the feelings rekindled by a chance meeting with John, who still carries a torch for her?
Will you like it?
When Lucy vents to John about her work, he tries to calm her down by pointing out that she’s not steering the course of nations — it’s “just dating.” Lucy’s frustrated response — why is dating always dismissed as “silly girl shit”? — cuts to the heart of what makes Song’s approach to this story interesting.
Rom-com and tearjerker are the two subgenres of romantic movie that Hollywood seems willing to promote these days, and Materialists is neither. It’s just a movie that takes romance and dating seriously and suggests we should, too. For Song, that means acknowledging that seeking a mate isn’t always a lighthearted fantasy in which even the worst mishaps are still funny. Here, no comic misunderstandings force lovers onto the path of confessing their feelings. Instead, the film’s midpoint twist involves a dating scenario so unpleasant and unfunny — and, unfortunately, so real — that it throws Lucy into a tailspin, making her question her whole approach to her work.
While this dark turn has attracted controversy, it isn’t the main reason why the first half of Materialists works better than the second. Rather, the first half is simply written with a stronger sense of direction, and it’s a better match for the lead actor’s talents.
Johnson is at her best when Lucy is coaching her clients, projecting a mature, nurturing presence with wryness around the edges, like the coolest mom on the block. We see why she gets results. The contrast between Lucy’s smooth affirmations and her clients’ childish fretting is a fascinating study in how dating can undo people who are otherwise confident in themselves.
Just as dynamic and fun are the scenes in which Lucy removes her professional mask to engage in real talk with her colleagues and Harry. She makes it clear that the search for a mate in a capitalist society is all about numbers and perceived “value” — while somehow maintaining her sparkling, sophisticated tone. Like Lily Bart in Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth, Lucy is self-aware enough of her own superficial motives to be unfailingly charming, even to those she rejects, so we understand why John can’t forget her.
But when it comes time for Lucy to make the choice the plot dictates — between John and Harry — Materialists loses momentum. The movie’s second half wanders through moody scenes in which Song attempts to flesh out one of those pairings enough to make us invest in the romantic ideals that Lucy has just wittily deconstructed. Though Johnson and her costars do their best, the satirical spark is gone, and there’s not enough chemistry to replace it.
If nothing else, Materialists reminds us that stories that acknowledge the role of social and economic contingencies in matchmaking can be romantic, too. Think of Jane Austen adaptations — or of Song’s own Past Lives. Here, the filmmaker seems to have higher ambitions: to critique the whole romance-industrial complex within the framework of a touching love story. It’s a noble effort to assert the raw power of human connection in a material world, but love doesn’t quite win.
If you like this, try…
Past Lives (2023; Kanopy, Netflix, Paramount+, YouTube Primetime, rentable): In Song’s debut, an immigrant (Greta Lee) reconnects with an old flame from South Korea and wonders what could have been.
Hitch (2005; Starz, YouTube Primetime, rentable): Will Smith stars in this earlier variation on the “single matchmaker” premise, playing a dating coach who’s more adept at solving his clients’ romantic problems than his own.
“Fleishman Is in Trouble” (2022-23; Disney+, Hulu): If you enjoyed the more cynical side of Materialists — and its upscale Manhattan setting — try this miniseries based on Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s novel. A newly dating divorced dad (Jesse Eisenberg) grapples with the sudden disappearance of his ex-wife (Claire Danes), with whom he’d clashed on money issues.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2025.
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