Materialists

by Julian Spivey

Photo: A24

Director: Celine Song
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal & Chris Evans
Rated: R (language & brief sexual material)
Runtime: 1 hour & 56 minutes

​Director/screenwriter Celine Song is certainly in her bag when it comes to crafting stories about women who have to choose between two men. She did so terrifically in 2023’s “Past Lives,” which garnered her Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, and had many calling it the best film of that year.
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Two years later, she has done another superb job with the theme, though this one focused more on love versus financial stability than on cultural aspects, in “Materialists.”

“Materialists” stars Dakota Johnson as matchmaker Lucy, who is very good at matching people together in the luxuriousness of the New York City dating scene. Still, she hasn’t found the right person for herself. She even jokes with a co-worker about how she’s destined to die alone. Her view on love was warped by a troubling childhood, which saw her parents struggle with poverty, fight, cheat and divorce. Now she feels she needs something akin to financial stability, more so than actual love. It’s a pessimistic view on life, but one that seems to be rampant within her world.

At the wedding of one of her clients, Lucy meets Harry, a charming billionaire, played by Pedro Pascal, who’s capable of doing charming like nobody’s business. At the wedding, she also runs into her ex-boyfriend, John, an aspiring actor who works as a caterer to make ends meet, played by Chris Evans.

The set-up is straightforward, and not so original – she’s going to choose between one of the two men – but the way Song goes about crafting the storyline and the impressive performances by the three leads (although Pascal and Evans are truly supporting Johnson’s performance) – one never quite knows if the story will have a happy ending. In this world of overthinking and overanalyzing, many people who have seen the movie have their opinions on whether the film had a happy ending or if Lucy made the right decision. Depending on your own life and experiences when it comes to topics like love, financial stability, etc. you might find yourself rooting for one man over the other to win Lucy’s hand, and it may affect how you feel about the outcome.

I don’t want to spoil anything for those who haven’t had a chance to see “Materialists” yet, but I will say I thought it ended the way it should have.

I will add it’s important to go into “Materialists” knowing this film is a drama. Some of the promotion, and even some of the ways it’s labeled online, may lead viewers to believe this is a romantic comedy, rather than the romantic drama it is. Though if you’ve seen “Past Lives,” you won’t be surprised or unafraid of the film’s heavy themes.