Materialists

NOW IN THEATERS! Celine Song follows up her breakout debut Past Lives with Materialists, a romantic drama set in New York’s modern dating world. Song tells the story of a professional matchmaker, Lucy (Dakota Johnson), who’s built a career pairing women with wealthy men. Her ex-boyfriend, John (Chris Evans), a struggling actor working in the service industry, remains a quiet presence in her life. Then along comes Harry (Pedro Pascal), a charming and extremely wealthy stranger Lucy meets at a client’s wedding—an encounter that forces her to question the mere idea of falling in love.

Our tale opens with an unexpected and clever sequence set in prehistoric times, framing the film’s central theme: the primal, age-old question of love versus security. In the present day, Lucy navigates the rigid preferences of her high-end matchmaking clients, where age, income, and appearance are commodified like stocks. Her job involves presenting hard truths about what people want versus what they can realistically achieve.

(L-R) Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans
Credit: Atsushi Nishijima

“…a quiet but powerful meditation on what we want versus what we need.”

While celebrating at the wedding of one of her clients, Lucy meets the man of her dreams in the groom’s brother, Harry. Or at least, he appears perfect and financially stable. Throwing a wrench in Lucy’s newfound love, her ex-boyfriend John is working as a catering server at the wedding.

With the love triangle firmly in place, Materialists is off and running. As Lucy gets to know Harry, she’s confronted with a different type of ideal partner: rich, attentive, and successful, someone who appears to be everything she’s been taught to want. Yet her growing uncertainty reveals the deeper question haunting the film: Is checking boxes the winning formula? Her rekindled connection with John, despite his financial instability, stirs feelings of genuine affection and shared history. Lucy must reflect on a quiet but powerful meditation on what we want versus what we need.