Brilliant, Beautiful, Blush-Worthy, How Celine Song's "Materialists" Redefines the Modern Rom-Com

In 2023, Canadian director, Celine Song dazzled the film world with her Oscar-nominated debut, Past Lives. A film that explores love, loss, and growing older, leaving audiences around the globe in a puddle of tears. Fans waited with baited breath to see what Song would do next. This year, her latest project, Materialists has become one of the most highly-anticipated films of 2025. Now that it's finally in theaters, I can say for certain that it's a film that will have you blushing, kicking your feet, and re-examining how you value yourself as a person.

Materialists follows the story of successful New York City matchmaker, Lucy, played by Dakota Johnson, whose job is introducing eligible bachelors to eligible bachelorettes. She takes her job incredibly seriously, being one of the best employees at her company due to her mathematical, almost cold approach to love. Over time, working as a matchmaker has made her cynical and she soon catches herself in the middle of a love triangle between multi-millionaire, Harry (Pedro Pascal) and her financially destitute ex, John (Chris Evans). Lucy has to decide whether she wants to spend her life with her impossible "unicorn" dream man, or the one who really truly gets her. That might sound like the most cliché rom-com you've ever seen, but I promise you Materialists is so much more than a film about love, it's a film about people.

Dakota Johnson has a history of being in films that are, let's just say, sub-par, but Materialists is easily her best performance to date. It was truly a joy to watch her character evolve from start to finish. Her constant people-pleasing attitude and evaluation of her own self image is something that a lot of female audience members will feel themselves relating to. Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans also give great performances in their supporting roles, making for plenty of blush-worthy moments. Pedro Pascal's Harry is so undeniably charming and charismatic it'll have audiences screaming in the cinema for Lucy to choose him. Special praise is also warranted for Katina Danabassis' work in the wardrobe department for pulling off such elegant looks for the whole cast.

Without a doubt, the crown jewel of Materialists is the brilliant cinematography by Shabier Kirchner. I cannot stress enough how beautiful this movie is, visually. The camera movements are all so deliberate and poised, allowing for so much unspoken storytelling. There is also a very intentional use of color in this film, every frame looks so carefully constructed in terms of how the costumes and set compliment each other. There are a good number of stills from Materialists that you wouldn't mind being hung on your wall. Kirchner is without a doubt, one of the most talented DP's working today, and has a long career ahead of him. Even if you find yourself not relating to the film's story, it's still an absolute feast for the eyes.

The script of Materialists proves that Celine Song's talent for screenwriting was more than a fluke. The way these characters peel back their layers over time, becoming more and more vulnerable is something that audiences are really going to respond to. There is a great balance of sincere moments, laughs, and scenes that will have every woman saying "been there."

Lucy's fatal flaw is that her approach to love is based off logic and numbers instead of anything human. She determines who to match her clients with based on objective criteria, which has led her to be the cause of nine marriages in New York City. She has a very realistic yet cynical view of herself to the point where when the "perfect" man enters her life, she can't accept him because "the math doesn't add up." Lucy has to learn the hard way that love isn't something that can always be explained using algorithms and logic, sometimes it just happens.

Materialists is a film that is practically shouting at its audience that being vulnerable is not a weakness, and that someone's inherent value isn't something that can determined by simply checking off a few boxes. Love is one of the most central parts of the human experience, something that everyone should experience at least once in their lives. This film is a reminder that even for the most self-proclaimed materialists around, like Lucy, there's only so much that money can buy. Ultimately, what we all want is someone who makes us feel valuable, despite all of the reasons to assume we're not.

My one criticism of this film is that I wish more time was dedicated to getting to know Harry and John. Materialists is first and foremost about Lucy's story, but when she has to choose between two people, I just wish as an audience member that I got to see more of what makes them tick, and what went into Lucy's final decision. I think 10-15 minutes could've been shaved off of the runtime, but that just allows the audience to spend more time with these characters.

If I'm being honest, Materialists was exactly the kind of film I needed to see right now. It's a gentle reminder to make time in your life for the human moments, and that not everything is simply enough to fit into an equation. Sometimes you need to ignore all of the bullshit life throws at you and just listen to your heart.

So thank you, Celine Song, for yet another wonderful and deeply human piece of art. I know that I for one, cannot wait to see what you do next.