Celine Song isn’t just one of the only filmmakers crafting romantic stories for adults. She’s among the few who can write about love honestly, even if her characters aren’t always honest with themselves. Past Livesrevolved around three emotionally guarded people afraid to utter the unspoken truth. Materialists centers on another love triangle, although the characters lay their cards on the table. There’s always one card that they hold back, however. Despite being more dialogue-driven than her previous film, Materialists is just as much about how couples communicate and fail to communicate, stressing about what’s on the surface rather than what’s underneath.
Dakota Johnson reminds us that she needs to do the occasional Madame Web so she can take on projects she’s actually passionate about. Johnson gives her best performance as Lucy, a matchmaker who’s more like a salesperson. When talking to her clients, Lucy has the soothing composure of a life coach. Behind the scenes, she talks about her clients as if they were houses on the market. In her eyes, love is a business transaction, which it is to an extent. Just because someone checks all the right boxes doesn’t necessarily mean you’re compatible with them, however.
Speaking of the perfect match, Lucy meets Harry, who is wealthy, charming, and conveniently looks just like Pedro Pascal. Just as Harry enters Lucy’s life, a blast from her past resurfaces. John isn’t without his advantages, being played by Chris Evans. Where Harry lives in a spacious, $12 million apartment, though, John shares a tiny space with two other guys incapable of cleaning up for themselves. This extends to used condoms. John makes a living through catering gigs between the occasional acting job. If you look closely at the poster for the play John stars in, you’ll spot, “Written by Celine Song.”
While Harry is a “unicorn,” as one person puts it, Lucy can’t help but sense there’s still something between her and John. This sounds like a typical rom-com setup, and while Materialists follows a more traditional route than Song’s last movie, it’s anything but cliché. Hell, the film opens with a caveman proposing marriage to a cavewoman with a ring made out of a flower. The cavewoman accepts, but is she truly in love with the caveman or what the ring represents? Lucy begins to question her approach to romance after arranging an especially awful date for a client named Sophie, played by Zoë Winters in a supporting performance that sneaks up on us. If Lucy could make such a massive miscalculation in someone else’s love life, what does that say about her own?
Song asks all of the questions about love that we’re afraid to say out loud. Does wanting to be with somebody wealthy make you a terrible person? Is it better to settle for a less-than-perfect relationship or hold out for someone who might not even exist? Why spend thousands on a wedding when you’ll probably just get divorced anyway? Whether or not Song provides answers, her characters are always fascinating to listen to. Materialists is funny, sad, and, above all else, romantic in unexpected ways. The characters might be shallow at times, but the film overflows with substance.