Like any good matchmaker, Song wants to give her audience everything it desires
Be warned: despite its glossy cast and slick marketing, Materialists is not a romantic comedy. As to what it is instead, not even its creator seems entirely sure.
At first, writer-director Celine Song (Past Lives) appears determined to turn genre conventions inside out: to expose romance as the soulless simulation it often seems to be. So, in classic romcom tradition, our heroine Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a pragmatic matchmaker so successful in juggling dating algorithms that she's celebrating her ninth client wedding. And it's at these nuptials that she meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), a financier her industry considers a 'unicorn': handsome, wealthy, and tall. (Lucy's clients, like the film itself, fetishise male height and female youth, so if you are a man under six feet or a woman over 30, prepare to feel vaguely unworthy.)
Coincidentally, Lucy's ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans) is also at the reception. But while Harry is a guest, John is a waiter. And therein lies her dilemma: does our material girl choose love or money?
For a while, Lucy enjoys the fancy restaurants, enormous bouquets and easy life that Harry offers. But Lucy's Cinderella story hits midnight in a jarringly dark manner, when a client experiences unexpected tragedy. And suddenly, Lucy wonders whether John – with his two roommates, lack of savings, and uncertain future – might actually be the stronger prospect.
Song has, undeniably, done a beautiful job composing this visually absorbing film. Cinematographer Shabier Kirchner – who also lensed her lovely, Oscar-nominated debut – knows just how to capture New York with both illusory sheen and palpable warmth. The impeccably cool soundtrack is packed with the likes of Cat Power, St. Vincent, and Japanese Breakfast. And the settings are a dream, from Harry's magazine-spread apartment to Lucy's loft-like office.
But everything else comes across as constructed, too. Song's ambitious desire to dismantle and reconsider contemporary fairy tales is admirable, and intriguing. Is love truly just a commodity, as nearly everyone here seems to believe?
The answer to such a blunt question requires a level of equally unsparing honesty, whether cynical or sincere. And unfortunately, her uncertain script tries to have it both ways. So while the actors are individually appealing, their characters feel like paper dolls designed to represent concepts, rather than generate chemistry.
Like any good matchmaker, Song wants to give her audience everything it desires: the packaged fantasy of a Hollywood product, and the earthy emotion of a solemn indie. But even her wavering heroine gets tired of debating between heartfelt conviction and practical avarice. When it comes to love – and work – you can only hedge your bets for so long. Eventually, Lucy learns, you're gonna have to pick a side.
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Celine Song's secret to making heartbreaking rom-coms is her personal life
When Celine Song wrote the script for her debut feature film, 'Past Lives,' she was inspired by a conversation she had at a New York bar with her husband and her childhood sweetheart, who was visiting from South Korea. While translating between Korean and English for these important men in her life, she discovered that she was also translating 'two parts of myself,' Song explained in an interview with BAFTA. The romantic drama, starring Greta Lee and Teo Yoo, showcased a love triangle — but one that Song has previously described as the past, present and future of her life and the 'what ifs' that so many people oftentimes think about. The 36-year-old director and writer captivated audiences with her authentic and heartbreaking film — and it's all because of her real-life experience. 'Past Lives' earned Song an original screenplay Oscar nomination, and the film was also nominated for best picture. So when it came to her latest romantic comedy, 'Materialists,' Song once again took inspiration from her personal life. As an aspiring playwright in New York City, Song didn't have the experience to work as a barista or in retail. Instead, after meeting a matchmaker at a party, she applied for the same position. 'I was like, 'Well, maybe I'll try to get that job,'' Song tells 'And then I worked on it for like, six months. But I feel like I learned more about human beings in those six months than I did in any other part of my life. And in fact, it become kind of a big part of what I know about people too.' Years later, those six months would eventually lead to her second feature film starring Dakota Johnson as Lucy, a high-end New York matchmaker who attempts to set up her rich and successful clients with other elite bachelors and bachelorettes. She's good at her job, which has led to nine successful marriages. However, Lucy's approach to having someone find their happily ever after is determined by math, calculations and numbers. When Lucy asks who her clients want to be buried next to and change their diapers when they grow old, her clients tell her the weight, height, salary and age range they want in a partner, focusing on the material aspects. At first it appears as if these marriages aren't based on happiness and how another person makes you feel. These are business transactions and what each person brings to the table. Lucy, on her end, also considers herself a professional — cold at times, and practical. At a wedding, she meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), a tall, handsome and extremely rich businessman who is very interested in her. At that same wedding, she runs into her ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans), a struggling cater waiter and aspiring actor. Flashbacks show that Lucy and Chris, despite having a strong bond, had called it quits over financial issues. What comes next is someone torn between being in love with a person who doesn't check all the boxes and another who does. This love triangle was not a part of Song's own time as a matchmaker, though other moments in the film do come from her past. An ending courthouse wedding scene was inspired by her own civil ceremony with husband and 'Challengers' screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes. 'I got married at the courthouse first,' she says. 'I had a party after.' Song ultimately decided to call it quits as a matchmaker, 'because I wasn't writing, because it was too fun,' she says. 'This was supposed to be a day job and it was becoming like my full time thing ... I only did it for six months but some of them resulted in a second date, which is a win.' When it comes to drawing inspiration from her personal experiences for her work, Song says it has to teach her something and 'it always has to be something that fascinates me.' 'Or something that makes me feel like, 'Oh, I don't know enough about that,'' she continues. 'The story has to feel like it knows more than me, is wiser than me, and it's better than me in that way.' 'Materialists' asks: Is love easy? Is checking the boxes better than a real connection? Does being taller make you a better catch, among other measurable features. There's a scene in 'Materialists' when Lucy is talking to her co-worker about a surgery that can make a person taller. The two matchmakers candidly speak about the benefits of such procedure when it comes to finding a partner. Later on, Lucy discovers that Harry actually had the surgery and added six inches to his height. He admits that after the procedure, his whole life changed and more women became interested in him. While the audience laughed in the screening I attended during those moments, Song calls it 'heartbreaking.' 'It's heartbreaking because you're seeing the way that it is materially and tangibly affecting somebody like Harry. The standards, numbers like height, all of that,' she explains. 'What Harry is going through is very difficult as well, and I'm really interested in depicting men fairly.' The idea of a 'unicorn,' a rare and nearly perfect candidate, is also a product of the materialistic world, Song says. She hopes male viewers can relate. 'So often the topics of romance are reduced to girl s---,' she says, adding that matters of the heart are not just for women. 'The truth is, men are also crushed by the dating market. They're also crushed by the way that we date and with the way that we objectify and commodify ourselves and each other. I really wanted there to be a very real consequence for men in the film, and have them be crushed by the same dating market that crushes (Lucy's client) Sophie or Lucy.' Song hopes 'Materialists' start an open-hearted and honest conversation about what it's like to date and love in 2025. And when asked, 'Is love easy?' Song replies, 'Love is easy.' 'But it's also hard when people are afraid to let go of control and completely surrender,' she adds. 'But the truth is, I think, when it happens, it just happens. They say, 'If you know, you know.' That's kind of what it is. You face it, and then when you face love, it's very simple and it's very easy.'
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