Film Review: Materialists

Welcome back to the blog readers. Romantic films are not usually my cup of tea because they all feel superficial to me. And this is coming from a guy who has never been with anyone. Yes, I'm serious. Hearing about this film definitely piqued my interest because the director is an Academy Award nominee already. Plus, I love two of the three people on the poster. Would my hesitance of seeing this film bite me in the ass and leave me disappointed? Stick around to find out.

Materialists was written and directed by Celine Song. The film stars Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal. In the film, a successful luxury matchmaker finds herself questioning her desires and her life choices when she not only hits it off with a wealthy socialite, but also reunites with her struggling actor ex-boyfriend.

As I mentioned in the introductory paragraph, writer-director Celine Song received two Academy Award nominations for her directorial debut Past Lives (2023), a film that received high acclaim and was lauded as one of the best films of 2023. Working with low-level actors and then moving on to the all-star crew in Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal was going to be a tall order, and I unfortunately did not feel the way 81% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes do. There are elements I loved, such as the performance of Chris Evans and the script, but Dakota Johnson's lifeless acting really kills a lot of momentum of the film.

We gotta talk about it. Dakota Johnson really needed a big win after the total dumpster fire that was my favorite comic book film of all time: Madame Web (2024). Johnson really needed a role that she could really sink her teeth into and elevate the way some of the greats like two-time Oscar winner Emma Stone can. But her performance in this film as matchmaker Lucy really made me wish Emma Stone had been in this film. Johnson not only cannot elevate the amazing script that I will talk about later, but I feel as if not even she believes in the words she is saying. She sounds like she is sleepwalking through the entire film, and she is as lifeless as MY dating life. I am really starting to lose faith in her as an actor with two really big duds for her.

But in terms of performances, I do have to praise the performance of Chris Evans as John, the ex-boyfriend. You know my love for Chris Evans goes back to those crappy Fantastic Four (2005-07) films he was in. But the role of his that I really got to see him shine was in Knives Out (2019). I honestly would have nominated him for Supporting Actor over one of the two people from The Irishman (2019). But in this film, Evans really does step up and elevate his work in the script. I could believe the words he was saying, and I believed him saying them. He feels like a genuine character in this world, and he really endeared himself to me in this role. I really hope this is the vehicle in which he starts getting more serious roles like this, because I really would like to see him getting critical love like his good friend Robert Downey Jr. is right now, and hopefully less The Gray Mans (2022) and Ghosteds (2023).

And I finally want to talk about the script. I want to preface what I am about to say by saying I never did see Past Lives so I do not have a jumping-off point in terms of what to expect from Celine Song's writing. And I was worried that we were going to get too superficial like White Noise (2023) in the beginning of the film, but I found the writing to be very slick, very true to modern society, and very witty. As someone who is about 9-10 years older than me, Song really understands what modern love is like. Hearing that she was a matchmaker too means that she drew upon her own life for art again. And people who draw from personal experiences for art hold a very special place in my heart. I hope she gets a second Original Screenplay nomination for this film because she absolutely deserves it.

In conclusion, Materialists has a lot to say about modern-day dating, and it says it well despite having another lifeless Dakota Johnson performance to boot. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.