‘Materialists’: Dakota Johnson Is Caught Between Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans in Celine Song’s Dreamily Honest Romance

Alci Rengifo

Relationships have always been much more complicated than just attraction or personality. Looks and money can indeed count for more, a lot more, than personality. Celine Song’s “Materialists” uses the rules of a romantic comedy to probe how certain sectors of the population seek partners in a time defined by economics, stability perfectionism. Dakota Johnson, in what is surely her best performance, transforms into a walking symbol of modern dating, coldly tacking off what works and doesn’t in spouse-hunting. It is a tricky dance because Song wants to immerse us in the aesthetic pleasures of a breezy romance, while challenging the audience to question our late stage capitalist mating rituals.

The setting is New York, where Lucy (Johnson) works as a matchmaker for an agency named Adore. Her job title is literal. Elite clients basically seek the service of providing the details of what kind of partner they want and Lucy then finds them a perfect match. She can boast of a decent amount of marriages resulting from her efforts. When a match is made Lucy sets up the date, then calls the next morning to see if her clients clicked. For her, dating is a particular science. Those with specific incomes pursue specific desires. Romantic notions about true love overcoming any barriers don’t compute in her world. At the wedding reception of another happy client, Lucy meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), a quite rich finance type who has charm, looks and a welcoming personality. Just by chance, serving at the reception is John (Chris Evans), Lucy’s ex-boyfriend and struggling actor living with roommates. How does a matchmaker choose?

Song’s eloquent 2023 directorial debut, “Past Lives,” which earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, announced her as a keen observer of human relationships. In many ways it was a tender film, pondering the ways two people can be made for each other but necessarily meant to end up together as a couple. “Materialists,” even with its glossy cinematography by Shabier Kirchner, has much more of a sting. It may glow like a date night movie, but Lucy bluntly tells someone they are not ugly, they just have no money. Her formation is not that of a cold monster, but like someone who grew up with nothing and so values material comfort. Even if she bemoans having to hear clients endlessly fuel their sense of self-worth by insisting she find them exactly what they want, Lucy is clear that her one deal breaker for a boyfriend is that they be incredibly rich. 

The sharpness in Song’s screenplay is how it dissects the ways choice in the modern world has shifted. After dating apps, nearly everyone feels they have more control over meeting the right person. Chance is thrown out the window. Swipe a certain direction after assessing every personal detail and photo provided, and maybe the chance of disappointment lowers. In Lucy’s world, the rich insist they can use her as a much more refined dating selection tool (a 48-year-old man is clear that for him, a 29-year-old prospect is too old). Harry drops into her life as a “unicorn,” meaning per her rulebook a man who is rich, very good looking and apparently truly nice. He speaks to her with respect, lacking condescension. John is also nice and knows her very well. A painful flashback which flips over a typical rom com scenario reveals how the relationship fell apart over an anniversary that derailed because of money woes. Song is acknowledging that money can matter in a relationship with cringe humor and soberness.

Such truth bombs are hidden with the textures of a movie that creates a breezy environment in its opulent settings and a soundtrack featuring tracks like “Manhattan” by Cat Power. In a testament to Song’s skill as a director, we feel as if she is stepping back and letting the characters figure it out without an invisible guiding hand for most of the movie. Dakota Johnson’s performance is so good because she makes Lucy stingingly smart and layered. Her arguments flow out with a rhythm and sincerity that’s difficult to argue with. It’s hard for us to claim she’s wrong in her assessments because she says them without malice. Her points about what makes a good couple feel so true on a practical level. Both of the men she now has circling around her are also written without the cliché device of having them compete. They know that in real life it’s rarely so easy to frame a situation as a good guy versus a jerk. John is supportive and lacks bitterness, and gets her hidden passion for acting. Yet, Harry is sincere with the added bonus that he can provide a $12 million apartment and exotic meals. 

If “Materialists” is seeking to subvert the romantic movie formula, it breaks its own rules in a particular element of the casting. Johnson is pitch-perfect, making us forget recent slips like “Madame Web” and “Daddio.” Pascal was born to play the handsome and rich option. Why then, did Song play it so safe by casting Chris Evans as the low income alternative? Evans is strong in the role, which is also one of his best recent performances. Yet, by giving Lucy two very good looking options, Song doesn’t seem to be challenging her life philosophy enough. She then corners herself in other curious ways. After a strong first crisis that forces Lucy to face the way even arranged dating brings dangers that should be obvious in hindsight, Song is almost forced into a conventional ending. Instead of bold Hollywood gestures, “Materialists” works best when someone’s revealing physical secret is discovered while they sleep or an emotionally vulnerable discussion ensues.

You won’t walk out of “Materialists” assured true love conquers all, only that may still have a flicker of a chance even as romance continues to be a Victorian-style blood sport. Song finds a conclusion for her characters but doesn’t drop any kind of grand philosophical statement. We have to discover for ourselves if what we desire is what we actually need. Dakota Johnson has created the ultimate wanderer with Lucy. She can make surface assessments for superficial pairings, and before the ending of the film gets too tidy for its own good, she’s forced to confront the reality that in any time or era, even what seems like such an obvious goal (money, houses, access) can get challenged because we are all pretending to be someone else. Maybe it is because we want to prove to ourselves that we deserve to be the desired ideal.

“Materialists” releases June 13 in theaters nationwide.