Materialists
On her way to work, Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a matchmaker with Manhattan's prestigious Adore company, stops to ask a handsome businessman who's just ogled her if he's single, then hands him a business card promising to connect him with just the right woman. In the office, she's celebrated for the ninth marriage of a client. At that client's wedding, Lucy will be pursued by a 'unicorn,' the rich, handsome and charming Harry (Pedro Pascal), but while she seems genuinely moved when they are interrupted by her ex John (Chris Evans) who is serving at the catered affair, John doesn't appear to stand a chance against the "Materialists."
Laura's Review: B
In her follow-up to her Oscar nominated debut "Past Lives," writer/director Celine Song once again features a woman caught between two men, but this time she's viewing them through an entirely different lens, one she experienced herself during six months as a professional matchmaker in New York City. While we chaff at the idea of the arranged marriage in favor of the love match, apparently transactional matchmaking where such things as height, fitness, beauty and, most importantly, income, are all commodities that 'check boxes' for well off clients looking for a partner.
No one is more convinced of this reality than Lucy, who talks her client Charlotte (Louisa Jacobson, TV's 'The Gilded Age') off an emotional ledge right before her wedding by getting her to admit just why she wanted to marry Peter. Obviously embarrassed, Charlotte opens up, saying that the fact that her groom is better looking, taller and makes more money than her brother-in-law makes her sister jealous. Lucy immediately translates that back as 'Peter makes you feel valuable,' a more acceptable emotion that Charlotte embraces.
While initially Lucy tries to take on Harry as a client, he tells her he'll only call her back if she agrees to go on a date. She demurs when he offers her a ride home, having already procured one from John, who she clearly has an intense history with which hasn't really died. A flashback will reveal that their five year relationship ended over money - his lack of it - but it always seems to be John who is there for her emotionally. But Lucy continues to see Harry, one date involving a frank conversation about what each has to offer the other, Lucy trying to convince Harry he can do far better than her. He isn't buying it, but just when their relationship is about to take the next step, something traumatic happens to Lucy's favorite client Sophie (Zoë Winters, TV's 'Succession') which shakes Lucy to her foundation.
Song has carefully crafted her characters, Lucy an intriguing mix. The woman who tells her colleague Daisy (Dasha Nekrasova, TV's 'Succession') that Sophie doesn't have a single distinguishing quality that will enable a match also declares her her favorite client because she is such a nice person, a judgment that will come back to haunt her. But she is also self aware enough to describe herself as 'judgmental, materialistic and cold,' a harsh assessment given the lengths she is willing to go when she cares. In his mid-30's, John still lives in a run down apartment with two roommates as he struggles chasing an acting career, yet his love for Lucy is palpable, the man dropping everything to offer her support. And Harry, who almost any other filmmaker would cast as at least slightly villainous, appears to actually be the 'unicorn' Adore staffers hunt for despite his belief he may not be capable of love (he does have one secret, albeit not a deal-breaking one, a cosmetic surgery 'investment' which Mia Farrow has long been rumored made for her son Ronan). Dakota, Evans and Pascal flesh out their characters perfectly, Dakota frustrating us without ever becoming unlikable, Evans melting our hearts and Pascal, well, being Pascal. Winters gives Sophie a lot of depth and the ever dependable Marin Ireland is practical and supportive as Lucy's boss Violet.
Director of photography Shabier Kirchner ("Past Lives") gives us a romanticized Manhattan, one which production designer Anthony Gasparro ("First Cow," "Showing Up") nevertheless insures exhibits walks of life from John's meager existence to the sites of hundred thousand dollar wedding receptions, Harry's rarified restaurant scene in sharp contrast to John's food carts. Costume Designer Katina Danabassis ("Past Lives") introduces us to Lucy in sleek chicness which gradually shifts to fluttery florals signifying her character arc, Lucy throwing her mathematical approach out for the messier one of human emotion. The film boasts a well curated, eclectic soundtrack featuring John Prine, St. Vincent, The Ronettes and Japanese Breakfast, with a seduction scene (ironically?) set to Françoise Hardy's 'Le Temps De L'amour'
"Materialists" lays down an anti-romance stance, then ricochets in its last act, embracing the romance it's been resisting. Stay for closing credits which roll over a scene which reminds us of a comment Lucy made about romance requiring money, another judgment disproved.
A24 releases "Materialists" in theaters on 6/13/25.
