Review: ‘Materialists' brilliantly exposes the price of desire

San Francisco Chronicle​

5 hours ago

The lighting says everything in Celine Song 's films.
Through most of 'Materialists,' the director and screenwriter's follow-up to 2023's ' Past Lives,' the camera casts its luxurious settings in a golden sheen. This is the world of a successful, high-end matchmaker in New York City. Responsible for nine marriages, Lucy (Dakota Johnson), as her boss crows during a sparkling office celebration, possesses 'razor-sharp instincts and one hell of an eye.'
It's a line that could also describe Song, who has spoken publicly about how 'Materialists' is inspired by her own past experience as a professional matchmaker. Here, the filmmaker once again enlists the talents of Shabier Kirchner, the cinematographer with whom she worked on 'Past Lives,' to shed light on the self that Lucy presents to the world and the one she keeps close to her chest.
Early in the film, Lucy carefully lines her lips in a tasteful rosy shade and selects inoffensive jewelry as the warm sunlight of her apartment is refracted in her many mirrors. Her voice is a finely tuned, silken purr. These are all elements of the persona that Lucy has meticulously crafted based on the keen sharp observational skills that serve her so well as a matchmaker.
Practically a human calculator, she is a woman who uses her gaze to constantly assess the marketability of each potential match, from income to education to looks (including height) and so on. Part of what makes Lucy so good at her job is that she herself is dying to claim a life defined by the finer things. Then, at one of her client's weddings, she meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), the impossibly wealthy and handsome 'unicorn' of a man who just might deliver for her.
But there's a moment toward the middle of 'Materialists,' when the camera flips jarringly from the expensive glow of Lucy's present to the harsh, daylight glare of her past. In this flashback, the view shifts through the grimy windshield of a beat-up Volvo to Lucy quarreling with her past love, John (Chris Evans).
It's Lucy and John's five-year anniversary, and for once, these two broke, young New Yorkers are trying to celebrate with a meal at a nice restaurant. It's an outing they can't afford, a fact they argue about while struggling to find parking.
'I don't want to hate you because you're poor,' she says to him with a ragged edge to her voice. Severe light emphasizes the lines of her face which, importantly, remains lovely despite its imperfections. It's one of the realest moments of the film for Lucy, who ends up reconnecting with John while he's cater-waitering at the very same wedding where she meets Harry.
By Lucy's calculations, Harry is perfect on paper, and he couldn't be embodied by a better heartthrob than Pascal. He speaks her language, noting that she markets her professional services as a 'luxury good' and describes her smarts as 'intangible assets' that are 'good investments that don't degrade.' These are 'Shark Tank'-worthy lines that could come across corny but twinkle when performed by an actor with such charisma.
But there's a troubling opacity to Harry. Why is he single? Who is he, really? These are questions that Lucy must answer before the film's dreamy, poignant conclusion.
Marketed as a romantic comedy, 'Materialists' is a sharper, more thoughtful film than its genre would suggest. This is a story about perceived value and what its pursuit costs its characters — emotionally, physically and materially.
For those who pay attention to the light, though, it's clear by the end what Song values as this film's storyteller. The credits roll against a setting resplendent with a honeyed glow, revealing a depth and sweetness that just might be the warmest light in the entire film.
Hannah Bae is a freelance writer.