Courtney Howard // Film Critic
MATERIALISTS
Rated R, 1 hours and 56 minutes
Directed by: Celine Song
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, Zoe Winters, Marin Ireland
MATERIALISTS is an ingenious, thought-provoking and emotionally resonant film – perhaps, the best romance of the year. Writer-director Celine Song delivers a lot to fall in love with, from her heroine’s transformative journey, changing from a superficial someone to a world-wise romantic, to the film’s meta-context wherein the genre itself also blossoms, subtly evolving a light-hearted romcom to a deeply evocative rom-dram. Less of a trope-riddled love triangle (nor is it PAST LIVES REDUX) and more of a smart coming-of-age reckoning, this cleverly conceived tale is blessedly free of broad comedic hijinks due to Song’s raw honesty and humanist textures. It’s the perfect equation of heart and humor.
Thirty-something Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a matchmaker in New York City, having successfully connected and married 9 couples in her years at the in-demand, high-powered agency Adore. She’s always working, pitching potential marks on the street, at cafes and special events. She’s essentially a publicist, spinning how love can be beneficially transactional in a relationship, as well as an amateur therapist, listening to her clients’ woes and dispensing wisdom. Her boss Rose (Marin Ireland) loves her and so do her colleagues. But lately, Lucy’s demanding clientele is starting to run her ragged, what with their their laundry lists of shallow stats (preferred height, weight and age) that make up their perfect person, in addition to their unreasonable expectations and caustic attitudes.
It’s around this time Lucy meet-cutes suave bachelor billionaire Harry (Pedro Pascal) at her client’s wedding and their spark ignites. He seems to fit all her criteria too as he’s tall, wealthy and smoldering. As fate would have it, also at that same wedding is Lucy’s ex-beau John (Chris Evans), only he’s working it as a cater waiter. He’s still carrying a torch for her. And this reunion stirs up Lucy’s fond feelings – ones that are quickly dashed by the traumatic memories of riding in his car, fighting over being too poor to park and dine in the city. As Lucy experiences the comforting cushion money provides her budding romance with Harry, she can’t help but interrogate her own conflicting feelings about love, money and her career’s askew value system that commodifies humans.
Song, as evidenced by her previous film PAST LIVES, is adept at creating masterful work filled with tenderness, yearning and longing. In MATERIALISTS, her vision and voice matures to an even more assured degree, cementing her as one of our best new-generation filmmakers. Her straight-forward sincerity and authentic approach capturing the concept of love – in all its differing dynamics and complexities – in the 21st Century, molding it into palatable, provocative entertainment, is truly astounding. She raises adult questions not typically tackled in films of this ilk, primarily those surrounding the intertwining issues of money, love and security. It also causes us to think about our own perspective on how we value ourselves and see value in others. Her treatise on the matchmaking industry is sharp, exposing its predatory exploitation of the lonely, turning them into goods and assets. While Lucy’s long-time client Sophie (Zoe Winters) could use a bit more finessing as she experiences a radical tonal shift, her inclusion is of utmost importance since she provides the catalyst for Lucy’s soul-shattering shift in ideology and sobering realization that the dating world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
Aesthetically, Song and her team thoughtfully demarcate the two worlds Lucy inhabits: the world of the privileged and that of the regular, working class. Production designer Anthony Gasparro and editor Keith Fraase’s work sings in glorious chorus during a brilliant montage set to Harry Nilsson’s “I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City,” juxtaposing Lucy waking up in Harry’s clean, dreamy $12 million apartment and John awakening in his chaotic, overcrowded hovel. From the perfectly curated pop soundtrack to Daniel Pemberton’s score that augments thematic colors and balanced notes, the picture’s pleasant soundscape is welcoming. Sound design feels intimate and insular, particularly when the leads are locked in conversations as if to sonically intone the rest of the world falling away into a blur on the sidelines.
Johnson is superb, sewing charm, nuance and vulnerability into the fabric. She brings a radiance and physicality to the role, specifically when she’s trying to be friendly and relatable to her clients, and a softer pathos to her character’s tactile internality. Her adorableness dazzles, but it’s her command at fusing warmth with delicate interiority that’s the true highlight. Pascal and Evans are undeniably terrific. Pascal exhibits a smooth, confident swagger, the likes of which we haven’t seen before on screen. Evans is tasked with delivering all of the swoon-worthy dialogue, hitting it out of the park with those quotable, heart-clutching lines. And his performance is truly touching. Men take notes.
Grade: A-
MATERIALISTS opens in theaters on June 13.
