Film Review: Materialists
Some People Just Want More
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film Materialists. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
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PLOT
Via Letterboxd: A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.
REVIEW
Two years ago, Celine Song delivered one of the most acclaimed directorial debuts in recent memory with Past Lives, a “romance” that eschewed typical genre tropes in favor of a quietly devastating meditation on what could’ve been. It told the story of two people caught between nostalgia and reality, ultimately forced to part ways despite the emotional weight tethering them together. The film was a critical darling, championed heavily throughout awards season, and it even managed to sneak into the Oscars’ Best Picture lineup. To my surprise, it also earned strong audience scores in a year filled with many movies that got such great scores.
Now, Song returns with her sophomore effort, Materialists, which explores a love triangle, this time dipping into rom-com tropes and familiar story beats, but refracted through the lens of a romance drama. Whereas Past Lives featured (then) lesser-known talent like Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro, Materialists boasts a cast of bonafide A-listers in Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, and Dakota Johnson headlining this outing, a sign of just how much industry faith has been placed in Song following her breakout success.
Unsurprisingly, Materialists has been one of the most anticipated films of the year among many of my fellow critics. But for me? Not so much. Back in 2023, I found myself aligned with the critical enthusiasm for many buzzy titles, but Past Lives left me cold. I respected Song’s clear command of tone and craft, and I admired the thematic ambition, but emotionally, I just couldn’t connect. I found the characters distant, the pacing inert, and the resolution more frustrating than moving. While others were wiping away tears, I sat there feeling indifferent, even a little irritated. It didn’t resonate with me, and next to Barbie, it was my personal least favorite among that year’s Best Picture nominees. I never got around to writing a full review for that movie, but I made my feelings pretty clear in my social media reactions at the time, and I knew I was in the minority.
On top of that, I’ve long been vocal about my aversion to love triangle narratives whether in dramas, rom-coms, or anything in between. So heading into Materialists, I’ll admit I had plenty of serious reservations. Would this film land the same way Past Lives did for me, technically strong but emotionally distant? Or would Song’s sophomore effort finally pull me in and offer something that went beyond artistic respect and into actual emotional engagement on my end?
The answer, to my slight surprise, leans more toward the latter. Materialists actually felt like a real-deal romance to me, something I never quite felt with Past Lives, which played more like two people endlessly aching over a connection that never seemed all that deep to me to begin with. This film, by contrast, takes a sharply grounded look at modern dating, where materialism, vanity, and transactional love dominate the scene, and asks “What does it actually mean to be in love today?”
Yes, there’s a love triangle at the core, but it’s handled with a refreshing maturity. It’s not the usual melodrama of two people fighting over the same partner. Instead, it feels like two men whose paths have crossed at different points in the same woman’s life, each representing different chapters, and different values, on her emotional journey.
The biggest standouts here are Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal, both of whom overcome what at first felt like miscastings. Evans plays the struggling ex-boyfriend, and Pascal the well-off current flame, and both imbue their roles with nuance and emotional vulnerability. Evans dials down his usual charm and leans into a more worn-down, everyman sensibility, while Pascal gives his character surprising softness beneath the affluence. Dakota Johnson is solid, though her character struck me as the weakest of the trio. She’s written in a way that’s a little too unlikable during the first act, and her emotional pivot toward the end feels abrupt—like a character arc that skipped a couple of necessary steps. Still, even with those hiccups, I found myself caring more about this group than I ever did for the quietly tortured souls of Past Lives.
What really surprised me was how Materialists doesn’t shy away from critiquing both male and female vanity in the current dating landscape. It has some bite. There’s a darker subplot introduced midway through that genuinely caught me off guard and gave the story a much-needed jolt. It added emotional heft, challenged the film’s themes in meaningful ways, and helped the narrative pivot into more dramatic, morally thorny territory. This shift also allows Zoe Winters to absolutely shine in a small but memorable role that leaves a real impact.
That said, I did feel the film’s length on a first viewing. Song still leans heavily on poetic monologues about love, something I took issue with in Past Lives as well. There’s a fine line between lyrical writing and characters speaking like they’re auditioning for a Sundance version of Before Sunrise, and Song occasionally crosses it. While these moments are beautifully delivered, they started to pull me out of the reality of the film, reminding me that I was watching characters rather than living with them. Also, a major character exit late in the film feels both abrupt and underdeveloped, a rare stumble in an otherwise carefully considered narrative.
Still, coming from someone who left Past Lives more frustrated than moved, Materialists hit me in a way that I wasn’t expecting. I connected with these characters. I wanted good things for them. And when the credits rolled, I had a smile on my face, a feeling I certainly didn’t get last time around from Song’s last film. It’s a romantic drama with just enough sharpness and sincerity to stand out in a genre full of half-hearted attempts at depth.
A solid date night film and a notable step up for Song, Materialists earns a solid B+ from me at first glance. It’ll be interesting to see how this movie ages with me come year’s end.
GRADING
