Pop quiz time – what do you get when you take three actors out of superhero/science fiction movies, team them up with a hip writer/director, and get it financed by an even hipper indie studio? You get Materialists.
Materialists stars Dakota Johnson (Madame Web) as Lucy, a professional matchmaker in New York City who views love with a completely analytic, mathematical mind. And she’s very good at successfully finding partners for her clients. At the wedding of two of her former clients, she meets the rich and charming brother of the groom, Harry (The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal), who becomes instantly smitten with her. But, working with the wedding catering company is her ex-boyfriend, John (Captain America himself, Chris Evans), who is just as happy to see Lucy as she is to see him. Lucy finds herself stuck between the man she would professionally set herself up with and the man who truly holds her heart.
Materialists is the second feature for A24 from writer-director Celine Song, whose first feature, Past Lives, was nominated for both Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the 2023 Academy Awards. In many ways, it’s more of the same old Song (forgive the pun). Materialists is well written, with clever dialogue and a story that, while fairly standard for the romance genre, does have a few things that make it fresh and unique. There’s a sly and subtle humor about it, so while it does inspire a few laughs, it comes off as more of a rom-dram than a rom-com.
The weak link in Materialists is, unfortunately, Dakota Johnson. Lucy is a numbers person, all brain and logic with very little heart and emotion. Johnson’s portrayal of this comes off as stiff and wooden, which doesn’t quite feel right for the character. Lucy is calculating and clinical but shouldn’t necessarily be cold. Johnson’s performance seems more like a line reading than a character portrayal. And there are sections of the movie that require Lucy to be more sensitive and caring, where Johnson just…isn’t.
For their parts, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans are both fine, although Johnson has zero chemistry with either actor. The best performance in the movie comes from Zoe Winters (Succession), who plays one of Lucy’s clients who winds up in a situation that, frankly, is the most surprising and shocking twist in the movie. This allows Winters to really shine – she’s only held back by the fact that her few scenes are all opposite Johnson.
Aside from Winters’ character’s subplot thread, Materialists plays out just about how any viewer would expect it to. While it’s not a completely typical movie romance, it’s pretty close. The love triangle with two very different men that a woman has to navigate is something that everyone has seen before. And it would be a lie to say that Materialists does it differently, but there is some creativity to the narrative. There’s a dry quirkiness to the movie that keeps it from being too much “fun,” and that helps it avoid many romantic film pitfalls. Which also makes it a typical Indie Romance.
Materialists doesn’t have quite the power that Past Lives had, so it’s doubtful that it will see the same awards success. It’s a decent sophomore effort from Celine Song but seems to be held back by the one thing that should elevate it – the big-budget cast. Materialists has the indie movie spirit, but the casting lacks the indie movie vibe. And that missing vibe is what made Past Lives work so well.
GRADE: C
Rating: R for brief sexual material and language
Release Date: June 13, 2025
Running Time: 1 hour 56 minutes
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