“Materialists” Lacks the Essential Burn of Yearning
In 2023, Celine Song burst onto the indie film scene with the achingly beautiful Past Lives. The film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the 96th Academy Awards. Past Lives centered around a trio of people bound together by love, choice, circumstance, and coincidence. The same can be said of her follow-up feature, Materialists, about another trio of romantically linked people who have to find out who they are to one another, even if it means breaking their own heart. While not as expertly crafted as Past Lives, Materialists is Song’s inquisitive look at the world of modern dating.
Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a matchmaker living in New York City. One would think a matchmaker would be married, or at the very least in a long-term relationship, but Lucy isn’t interested in dating. Her time in the world of matchmaking has made her view love as a series of boxes that have to be checked. If the base needs are fulfilled, love will come. At the wedding of one of her clients, Lucy meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), the brother of the groom. He’s a walking green flag. Kind, rich, and nice, he’s what they call a unicorn in the matchmaking industry. Their meeting is interrupted by John (Chris Evans), Lucy’s ex and a cater waiter at the wedding. Lucy finds herself between two men who offer wildly different things. One who checks every box and will give her a life of ease. The other who doesn’t check a single box, but who sees her for all she is.
courtesy of A24
The synopsis will make you think you’ve been transported back in time to the ’90s and you’re about to watch a cut-and-dried romantic comedy. Just swap this current trio for the likes of Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, and Billy Crystal. Materialists has a little more meat on its bones than Sleepless in Seattle, but it doesn’t hold the same weight as Past Lives. Materialists is interested in having the same conversation over and over again throughout the course of the film. The reason Lucy can’t see herself with John is because he’s, in his words, broke. He’s working as a cater waiter well into his 30s as he tries to make it as an actor, and there’s a large part of Lucy that wants the stability of money. Or maybe it’s because she’s been around her matchmaking clients for so long that she’s started to believe status is what matters above all else. Eventually, Lucy makes a decision between what these two men offer, but the path to getting there isn’t the space to breathe.
Materialists uses its matchmaking backdrop to explore some of the darker realities of modern dating. It’s a strange tonal shift that takes away from the messy relationships between Harry, John, and Lucy. While the situation presented is an unfortunate reality for many people, it feels oddly crammed into the film in a way that subtracts from the larger picture, rather than adding to it. It works to move certain plot points forward, but it takes away screen time for introspection from Lucy and adds drama for the sake of drama. There are so many other fascinating storylines and scenarios to plumb surrounding the film’s three main characters, that time spent away from them is a loss.
courtesy of A24
It’s hard to feel a little letdown after the way Past Lives so effortlessly wrapped the audience around its little finger. The simmering romance and tension from Song’s first work are missing here. At the risk of alluding to a spoiler, it’s incredibly obvious to the audience that the magical spark needed for a relationship is missing between Lucy and these men. Once that becomes clear, Materialists loses some of the wind from its sails. There should be a sense of longing or yearning here, one that makes us chase each lingering glance or touch of the hands. Materialists comes across as cold, partially because of the film’s editing choices that cause conversations to feel one-sided. Instead of the dialogue flowing freely between the characters, any two characters, the edit keeps the camera focused on only one. The scene partner becomes an out-of-focus part of the shot, a disembodied voice that isn’t an equal contributor. On the flip side, however, when the actors are blocked in such a way that the camera captures both of them at once, parts of Song’s magic seep into your soul.
The ugly heart of Materialists is something most people are afraid to talk about when it comes to the reality of dating. It’s deeply embarrassing and silly to put on nice clothes and pay too much money for a mediocre dinner with someone you may never speak to again. Yet it’s this ridiculous, seemingly-never-ending pursuit that leads us to something great. The ugliness no one wants to talk about is that people are going on dates, hiring matchmakers, and swiping on apps because they want to feel valuable. They want someone to look at them, see them, and choose to become “grave buddies.” It’s mortifying to be known so intimately, yet Materialists would argue that’s the only box that needs to be checked.
support your local film critic!
~
support your local film critic! ~
Beyond the Cinerama Dome is run by one perpetually tired film critic
and her anxious emotional support chihuahua named Frankie.
Your kind donation means Frankie doesn’t need to get a job…yet.
Follow me on BlueSky, Instagram, Letterboxd, & YouTube. Check out Movies with My Dad, a new podcast recorded on the car ride home from the movies.