Materialists

I watched this in a theater where the AC was cranked so high I had to wrap my arms around a lukewarm bucket of popcorn just to survive, but within twenty minutes, the sheer friction of the central love triangle in Materialists had me totally thawed out. After the quiet, heart-aching precision of Past Lives (2023), I think we all expected Celine Song to keep making us cry in suburban hallways. Instead, she’s marched into Manhattan with a $20 million budget and a sharp, cynical, yet strangely hopeful look at what happens when love meets a balance sheet.

The High Price of "Happily Ever After"

In Materialists, Dakota Johnson plays Lucy, a woman who has turned the messy intuition of romance into a high-end brokerage service for New York’s elite. Lucy isn’t just a matchmaker; she’s a curator of social stability. She understands that for her clients, a spouse is a "material" asset—hence the title. Dakota Johnson is doing that thing she does better than anyone else: projecting a cool, detached intelligence that occasionally cracks to reveal a well of desperate yearning. If you liked her in The Lost Daughter (2021), you’ll recognize that ability to make a simple stare feel like a three-page monologue.

The conflict arrives in two very different packages. First, there’s John, played by Chris Evans. He’s the "perfect match"—wealthy, stable, and possessing a smile that feels like it was engineered in a lab to sell life insurance. It’s a clever bit of casting; Song uses Chris Evans’ inherent "Captain America" reliability to make us wonder if being perfect is actually just a bit... boring. On the other side, we have Harry, played by Pedro Pascal. He’s the ex-boyfriend who is basically a walking pile of "bad decisions" and unfinished business. Pedro Pascal looks like he hasn’t slept since 2019, and honestly, it’s the most attractive he’s ever been.

A Blockbuster for the Soul

What’s fascinating about Materialists is how it conquered the box office. In an era where anything that isn't a superhero sequel usually ends up dumped on a streaming service on a Tuesday afternoon, this film pulled in over $100 million. It’s a massive win for A24 and Killer Films, proving that audiences are actually starving for adult dramas that treat romance like a high-stakes thriller. It helped that the marketing leaned hard into the "Team John vs. Team Harry" discourse, which set TikTok on fire for three months straight.

The production itself feels lush. Cinematographer Shabier Kirchner, who brought such a specific, grainy intimacy to Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series (2020), shoots New York in a way that makes it look both aspirational and suffocating. The score by Daniel Pemberton—who did the propulsive, chaotic music for the Spider-Verse movies—is surprisingly jazzy and neurotic here. It mimics the heartbeat of someone who just realized they’re about to blow up their entire life for a guy who probably doesn't own a toaster.

Apparently, the shoot was a bit of a logistical nightmare, with the production constantly dodging the "Pedro-mania" crowds that swarmed their Lower East Side locations. There’s also a fun bit of meta-casting with Dasha Nekrasova (of the Red Scare podcast and Succession fame) appearing as Daisy; it adds a layer of "New York cool" that feels very plugged into the current cultural moment.

The Matchmaker’s Dilemma

The film works because it doesn't judge Lucy for being a "materialist." It acknowledges that in 2025, survival is expensive and love is a luxury. The script by Celine Song is much funnier than I anticipated, poking fun at the absurdity of the ultra-wealthy while never losing sight of the fact that even people with private jets get lonely. Chris Evans is basically playing a human golden retriever who owns a pent-house, and his chemistry with Johnson is all about polish and poise. But when she’s with Pascal? The screen feels like it’s vibrating.

There’s a scene in a dimly lit bar halfway through—no spoilers, I promise—that involves a shared cigarette and a very long silence. It’s the kind of sequence that reminds you why we still go to the movies. It isn't about the CGI or the "universe-building"; it's about two faces and a lot of unsaid words. Marin Ireland and Zoë Winters also pop up in supporting roles, adding some much-needed groundedness to the glossy NYC backdrop.

Ultimately, Materialists is the kind of movie that makes you want to walk through a city late at night and think about every person you’ve ever let go. It manages to be a commercial juggernaut without losing its indie soul, which is a rare feat in the current landscape. Whether you’re there for the A-list chemistry or the sharp-tongued commentary on modern dating, it’s a film that earns its runtime. I left the theater feeling a little bit more cynical about money, but a lot more convinced that Celine Song is the most exciting director working today. Just bring a sweater if you’re watching it in a theater—the emotional heat is high, but the AC is brutal.