The Materialists: The return of the romance genre

The Materialists hits theaters on June 13^th. The film stars Dakota Johnson fresh off her Razzie win for worse actress. Chris Evans on the heels of the critically panned Netflix film, Red One and Hollywood’s latest heartthrob Pedro Pascal; coming off a disappointing audience reaction to the Last of Us, with 18% fewer viewers than season 1 with the finale seeing 55% decrease in viewership… What could possibly go wrong.

The film is written and directed by Celine Song, who you may know from the critical darling film, from A24, Past lives. I had a chance to see it early and it was a….

Drumroll please….

 

 

Absolutely, and perfectly splendid.  A sweet and savvy return to a genre that felt left in the earl 2000’s. Materialists in short is a return to form, to pure romance movies, that the industry was desperately needing. It was refreshingly charming, visually stunning to watch and adorable. It may have taken its place amongst some of the best romantic films on the last decade, alongside films like the Big Sick and Crazy Rich Asians.

Though the film never quite reaches the euphoric heights of the wedding scenes in Crazy Rich Asians or emotional gravity of The Big Sick, it contains elements that firmly earn it a place among them.

City of Dreams & Drama

New York City becomes an ideal canvas for Song’s narrative. A city where gilded luxury brushes up against the restless ambition of its dreamers, offering both the allure of fantasy and the grounding pulse of reality.

One of the reason’s this film works so well is, at all times, it knows exactly that is it and what it needs to be. It’s a ride down a familiar road back home after being away for some time. You’re reminded oh, this is pretty, wow I like this, I miss this!

The film leans more toward classic romance than traditional rom-com. The humor, however, is well-calibrated.  Sprinkled in with a light touch, never forced or overplayed. It’s the kind of subtle wit that rewards you with a quiet chuckle, a soft “ah, I caught that” moment, rather than demanding a laugh.

I Love Lucy

Dakota Johnson’s Lucy is the centra character, who works as a top matchmaker at a Matchmaker firm called Adore. The film has some meta commentary with Lucy, being a failed actress.  Lucy is the top matchmaker at her firm, because she see’s dating in a mathematical way. She loves helping her clients find love but has been quite opposed to finding it for herself. Plus, at this juncture of her life, she has a very specific type, RICH!

With nine successful marriages under her belt, Lucy is riding high professionally, though one client, Sophie, continues to elude her matchmaking abilities.

At the wedding one of her clients who she successfully matched. The bride to be is getting cold feet. Lucy is asked for, by the bride who is questioning why she is getting married.

Lucy talks to her and asks her why she wants to marry him. The bride’s reason is that it makes her sister jealous. Her sister thinks the man the bride is marrying is better than her husband.

Lucy sums it up to, ‘he makes you feel valuable’. With that clarity, the bride recommits, and the ceremony proceeds. It’s here we are introduced to Harry, played by Pedro Pascal.

Enter the Unicorn

Harry Castillo the financier and brother to the groom.  Fascinated with how calculated lucy is, shows romantic interest. Lucy suggests he is what her industry calls a unicorn and that he and her are not a good match. Harry steps away from their conversation to grab drinks, determined to contact her, not for her services for a date. The waiter overhears Lucy about to recite her drink order and the waiter sits it in front of her at almost the same exact time.

The Return of the Ex

Enters, the ex-boyfriend. John, played by Chris Evans. Now working as a caterer while still chasing his acting dreams. John and Lucy share a moment of reflecting on their relationship that we find out unraveled because, well, John is broke.

John asks to speak more later after his shift.

John’s presence complicates things for Lucy—a materialistic realist who sees love as a numbers game. Though she still loves John, in her mind, the math is not mathing. Then there’s Harry, who’s determined to prove their compatibility works even if the math does not.

Six Inches and the Standards That Break Us

A recurring bit throughout the film pokes fun at the increasingly unrealistic standards people have for their “perfect match.” In one scene at the Adore office, Lucy and her coworker’s joke about how men are undergoing procedures to become up to six inches taller just to hit the coveted 6-foot mark. The moment touches on a very real cultural truth: height, unfairly or not, often equates to perceived value in everything from dating to career opportunities.

John gives Lucy a ride home and they flash back to their breakup. In the middle of the street all out argument, where Lucy says she believes John, hates her and admits to being a materialistic person and that she does not want to hate him for being broke.

It’s a core feeling that drives Lucy’s throughout the film.

While things begin to take off for her and Harry, they become exclusive, and she is experiencing all of the luxuries of being with a wealthy partner.  From waking up in his $12 million dollar apartment to eating at the best restaurants on a Tuesday.

John, earlier in the film, invited Lucy to come see him in his latest acting gig, a small stage play. She attends with Harry. She officially introduces Harry to John, as her boyfriend.

John and Lucy get into a little argument, john disapproving at the thought of lucy possibly marrying Harry because he is rich.

There are some great lines in the film like Lucy believes thinks believe emulate the way their parents argue. Harry says his parents never argued about money. She recalls how her and John always argued about money.

He checked a lot of our boxes

While Lucy’s love life is going swimmingly, she checks in on her client Sophie most recent date but cannot get in touch with her. So, she reaches out to Mark P. the guy she matched Sophie with. She gets a hold of him and he much to Lucy’s great jo said the date went well and would be open to seeing Sophie again if Sophie was game. It was weird, paused reaction but Lucy brushed it off.

Lucy is called into her boss’s office where she is informed that Sophie had been assaulted on her date. Lucy is distorted at the news.  Her boss informs her not to tr to contact Sophie anymore and that her lawyers are taking legal action against the firm. She’s told its part of the risk they take. Lucy does not take the news well and blames herself entirely. She cannot understand where she went wrong, because he checked a lot of Sophie’s boxes.

This cold calculated method that had earned her so much success had not in her mind, shown to be flawed for the first time.

Lucy, you got some explaining to do

The emotional toll of Sophie’s assault begins to seep into Lucy’s work. No longer able to stomach her clients’ delusions, she starts calling them out on their unrealistic expectations. An uncharacteristic move that prompts her boss to mandate a four-week leave to clear her head.

During her time off, Lucy tracks Sophie down, hoping to apologize and make amends. But the confrontation doesn’t go as planned. Sophie, heartbroken, confesses that she truly believed they were friends only to realize Lucy never saw her as valuable. When Sophie asks how Lucy could have set her up with someone so dangerous, Lucy, caught between guilt and the remnants of her logic-driven ideology, can only offer: “He checked a lot of our boxes.”

It’s in that moment that Sophie, seething, breaks the illusion completely. “F*** you, pimp,” she spits before walking away shattering not just the friendship, but the belief system Lucy had built her entire career on.

Earlier in the film, Harry asked Lucy where her dream vacation would be, and she told him, “Iceland.” But then added, almost as a throwaway, “I don’t even have a passport.” So, when it finally arrives, she should be excited but her mind is elsewhere.

Overwhelmed and needing someone who truly understands her, Lucy calls the one person she knows she can be completely honest with: John.

On the other end of the line, John listens with quiet concern and empathy. As he’s done throughout the film, he shows a deep understanding of who Lucy is at her core. He can sense something is off before she even finishes her sentence. Lucy opens up about Sophie, the guilt, the confusion, and the unraveling of everything she thought she believed.

When John gently offers to come over, Lucy casually mentions she’s packing for her trip to Iceland…with Harry. The words hit him like a reminder. She’s with someone else now. But even so, John stays on the phone, choosing to be there not as the ex, but as the one who’s always known her best. As her friend. As her true love.

What if I’m not capable of love?

That night, lying in bed beside Harry, Lucy wakes up and notices something an old scar on his leg. It’s not the first time she’s seen it, but this time, she reaches out and gently touches it. Harry wakes, clearly irritated and uneasy.

Without saying much, he gets up, puts on a pair of pants, and heads to the kitchen for a glass of water. Lucy follows, sensing a shift. She asks quietly, “What’s wrong?”

Harry turns to her and asks, “Do you know what the scars on my legs are from?”

She nods. “I think so. Did it hurt?”

He confirms with a simple, “Yes.” Then reveals what she suspected: he underwent the controversial and costly procedure to increase his height. “Six hundred thousand dollars,” he says flatly.

After a beat, Lucy tells him she thinks he should go to Iceland—alone. Caught off guard, Harry asks, “Is this about the legs?”

She shakes her head. “No. It’s not that.” But he doesn’t believe her. “It’s hard to think it’s not,” he says. Lucy pauses, then admits, “You don’t want to marry me.”

She tells him she found the ring he packed for the trip. “You’re not in love with me. You love the role I play. And I love that you make me feel valuable.” It’s a moment of painful honesty, raw and stripped of the storybook narrative they’d both tried to believe.

Harry, now exposed and vulnerable, finally lays his cards on the table. “What if I’m not capable of love?” he says. He explains how being taller gave him confidence he never had before. “At five-six, I wouldn’t have had the nerve to approach you,” he admits.

Lucy smirks and says she doubts that.

Then, in a moment that’s both tender and sad, Harry slowly crouches down to mimic his original height. Looking up at her, he asks, “Do you still think I’m a unicorn?”

She smiles and replies, “You’re perfect.”

And with that, they part ways. Not in anger, but in quiet understanding. Two people who helped each other grow, but ultimately weren’t meant to finish the story together.

The Wedding Crashers

The next morning, John receives an unexpected call from Lucy.

“I’m outside,” she says.

Caught off guard, John scrambles to pull himself together, navigating the chaos of his cramped, roommate-filled apartment. When he meets her on the street, Lucy jokes, asking if he had someone over—since he was so adamant she not come upstairs. John laughs it off but admits the truth: his apartment isn’t exactly in shape. In fact, he says, it’s somehow worse than it was when they were last together five years ago.

Lucy breaks the news—she and Harry have ended things. She explains she sublet her apartment for the week she was supposed to be in Iceland and now has nowhere to go.

John, still trying to mask how much he cares, offers a solution. “I just got my stipend from the play,” he says. “Let’s drive upstate. Get a hotel. Clear our heads.”

They hit the road and after a long, quiet ride, they unexpectedly pass a wedding being catered by the company John works for. They decide to crash it. Watching the ceremony from the sidelines, they begin to reflect.

“Why do people get married?” Lucy asks.

“Because they’re hopeful,” she answers herself. “PEople tell them they should. And they’re lonely.”

John pauses, clearly disagreeing.

As music swells and couples begin to dance, John and Lucy join in. There’s something undeniable about the way they move together—something old, something unfinished. But John pulls back. He needs clarity.

Stepping away from the reception, he turns to her. “What are we doing, Lucy? Are we getting back together?”

Lucy hesitates, echoing the same doubts she’s had all along. “We just don’t match. You hate me.”

She lays herself bare, listing her flaws. Then asks quietly, “Why do you still love me?”

John doesn’t flinch. “When I look at you, I see gray hair. Wrinkles. Kids with your eyes. I don’t know why—I just do.”

Sophie’s interlude

Before the moment can settle, Lucy’s phone rings. It’s Sophie. She’s scared. Mark P. is outside her apartment, demanding to be let in.

Without hesitation, Lucy and John race to Sophie, who’s nearly an hour away. Lucy stays on the phone the entire drive, keeping Sophie calm until they arrive. Once there, she comforts her. The two women share a quiet moment.

“I really need to start making better friends,” Sophie jokes through tears. “In an emergency, I shouldn’t be calling my matchmaker.”

Back outside, John is waiting—he stayed all night.

Earlier in the film, Lucy joked that finding “the one” isn’t about passion or magic. It’s about finding a nursing home partner. A grave buddy. Someone who sticks.

As the two sit together, they once again revisit the numbers. How it still doesn’t quite add up. But this time, John makes one final offer.

One last deal.

And this time, Lucy says yes.

 

A little time passes, and Lucy gets a call from her boss with surprising news. A leadership position has opened up at the New York office, and she has recommended Lucy for the role.

Lucy admits she had been planning to quit, but her boss encourages her to at least take the meeting and insists that she ask for an outrageous salary.

Meanwhile, Sophie has started to move on. After a great first date, she is heading into a second. We see her meet up with her new boyfriend—John—as they prepare for a simple, intimate picnic.

I would rate this film an 81. It is beautifully shot and makes for a fun, satisfying watch for anyone hopelessly in love with love, and those who appreciate the finer things.