Materialists (Celine Song, 2025)

Surface tension

Celine Song's Materialists on the surface is about the business of matchmaking-- an industry on the rise with the difficulty of online dating and of life in general (New York in particular); prices are not mentioned but looking at the clothes the characters wear and the milieu they inhabit you can probably figure it's in the five to six figure range for an annual service.

So the movie looks good and the cast looks handsome and the conversation in the trailer sufficiently sparkled (not Billy Wilder league much less Ernst Lubitsch divine but bubbles popped)-- is the actual experience worth it?

I think so. Key is central figure Lucy, and as Dakota Johnson plays her she's a smooth silky operator, holding clients' hands and smoothing ruffled feathers and convincing them they're swans even if they're really waddling penguins (to be fair the casting here is almost uniform-- no one is outrageously unconventional looking (personally feel that's a disappointment), and any of these prospectives would probably do well on Tinder). She hums with professionalism and you're both soothed and stimulated by the hum. 

Enter Harry (Pedro Pascal), brother of one of Lucy's more successful matches, and he's what Lucy describes as a 'unicorn,' an impossibly perfect match: rich, intelligent, good looking, and tall (height is a major topic in this movie, making me feel not a little insecure about my 5'10" stature (for the record Pascal is 5'11''-- but of course he'd be wearing inserts for extra inches)). Is there chemistry? Sure-- you feel anything Pascal stares at would start to smoulder almost immediately. 

Enter John (Chris Evans, six feet flat), Lucy's ex, who deftly inserts himself into the scene serving Lucy her drinks (a coke and a beer); John ticks off almost all the boxes (tall intelligent good looking) only he works as part time server to a catering company and acts onstage other times, so unicorn he ain't-- more like standard-issue stallion with baggage. 

That's the situation, a tale as old as time: girl wants Mr. Right but is dazzled by the opulence of Mr. Wrong. Sitch evokes Jane Austen's Emma, only Austen had the skill to blindside you again and again with romantic curveballs while this is so pared down the scenario can only play out so many ways, any surprise possible would come down to the details. 

Strangely ethnicity doesn't come up as an issue-- Harry's isn't discussed much if at all (I could have missed it) and he definitely doesn't court Lucy with his exoticism, just a kind of bland Gatsbyness (swap him out with a younger Robert Redford and you basically have the same movie). Not sure I like the idea that all-American Evans is the answer to Lucy's dreams while Chilean-born Pascal isn't (Captain America over The Mandalorian? Over Joel Miller? Over Oberyn fucking Martell?!), but Song quietly shuffles the question aside (this is about materialism, dammit!) pretending it doesn't exist, and I'm wondering: why shouldn't it? Because it raises one uncomfortable question too many? 

Also didn't enjoy the fact that the food porn was held at arms' length-- I recognize Nobu Downtown, and L'Abeille, and Sushi Ichimura, all establishments way out of my price range, but would it have killed them to talk a little more about the cuisine? Do a little Menu-ing? Maybe throw in an unusual or even fun venue like I don't know Sammy's Roumanian or Naks in the East Village? Noodles once romanced Deborah by shutting down an entire restaurant in Once Upon a Time in America for their date, complete with orchestra-- couldn't Harry sweep Lucy away with a similarly grand gesture?

But I forget, this is a picture about relationships and while the schema is simple even predictable, Song does write honestly sharp and canny dialogue, and Johnson and Pascal-- and Evans-- know how to wield them to their respective advantage. Shots are fired, palpable points made, and Evans gets in a few body blows on behalf of aspiring eternally hungry artists everywhere, while Johnson manages to put everything in relatively sane perspective (it's personal, Sonny, it's not strictly business).

Maybe my biggest gripe is that Song's previous film Past Lives drew blood; this mostly makes pinpricks, is more an enjoyable even thoughtful amuse-bouche than a substantial meal. Absolutely Materialists is worth a look-- just if you're bringing a first-time date you might consider wearing inserts in your shoes, for the extra advantage.