Materialists

'Materialists' was not what I expected.

It's been marketed like a rom-com - but honestly? If you're heading in expecting laughs, you'll be disappointed. What you get instead is a sharp, quietly melancholic study on modern love, dating, and loneliness in the big city. It's not so much about romance as it is about emotional bankruptcy - the way ambition, money, and appearances slowly chip away at real connection.

The story follows Lucy, a matchmaker who views relationships like transactions, caught between two opposites: Harry, rich and polished, and John, her sweet but struggling ex. But the real tension isn't between them - it's in her. What does she actually want? Love, comfort, validation? Or just a life that looks good on paper?

Celine Song's style is unmistakable - lingering shots, dialogue that feels like internal monologue, and a quiet ache humming underneath it all. At times, it almost felt like watching a late-era Woody Allen film - not in tone, but in that subtle, creeping sense of urban melancholy. By the end, I didn't feel uplifted. I felt... thoughtful. A bit heavy, even.

This is a film about the emotional numbness that sneaks in when we live our lives through filters - digital and otherwise. About the loneliness hiding behind perfect apartments and curated dating profiles. And how love (or at least the idea of it) gets commodified without us even noticing.

Not a rom-com. Not really even a romance. More of a character study. A mood piece. A quiet critique. And once I let go of what I thought it was meant to be, I found I really liked it, and I hope you do too.

My wife and I watched The Materialist (2025) in theaters last night. The story follows a matchmaker in New York who's helped countless others find love-but hasn't quite found it for herself. Or maybe she has, but the strict conditions she places on relationships may have kept her from realizing it. When she meets a man who seems to check every box, she's forced to ask herself: is she about to make a mistake, and is true love more important than her carefully curated criteria?

The film is written and directed by Celine Song (Past Lives) and stars Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey), Chris Evans (Captain America), Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones), Zoe Winters (Succession), and Marin Ireland (Homeland).

From the opening scene, it's clear the film is pushing a familiar message and the storyline is highly predictable-you'll likely see every plot turn coming. That said, it does offer some thoughtful reflections on successful men's outlook on dating, the difficulties older women encounter in dating, and the universal longing for companionship. It also explores how rigid expectations in relationships can sometimes become barriers to genuine happiness.

In conclusion, The Materialist presents some fun situations and sincere themes, but ultimately feels a bit contrived. I'd give it a 6.5/10 and recommend it only with the appropriate expectations.

I was disappointed in this one. It had its moments, but not enough to warrant a more than an average rating. Dakota Fanning's delivery of dialogue has always been so monotone to me however, I have to say I like this role better than some of her others. She actually seemed to care at a few moments during this movie. The exposure of horrible things that could come from using a dating service was good details. Not in a warm fuzzy kind of way, but it's an unfortunate reality. The shallowness of people when they're looking for the perfect mate was very believable. Disappointing but believable. To me the ending was very predictable.

Celine Song is the writer and Director of "Past Lives" (2023) and all I can say it's one of the best films I've ever seen.

Unfortunately the same style and formula made for Past Lives didn't work this time with Materialists. The storytelling of body language, lack of words, the lack of explanation, lack details in their dialogue, the simplicity didn't really add to the story where as Past Lives worked perfectly.

Sorry if I compare it to Past Lives, I know I shouldn't they're both completely different. Besides its not fair.

I think this movie could have been great if the writer would've written the screenplay as realistic as possible. The movie would hit completely different.

I love Pedro Pascal, I'm a fan of his and have posters of him in my room and stuff. Dakota and Chris are great actors, in general the actors did what they could with the script they were given.

Even though I was underwhelmed I was thoroughly entertained the whole time I watched the movie and that's what movies are supposed to do. Maybe it deserves a higher score.

Let me preface by saying that my wife was a matchmaker for over 2 years in L. A. She lived the life of walking around asking people "hey are you single?" So naturally, she and I were excited to see this movie. While there were a few nods to the common (and hilariously ridiculous) issues that matchmakers deal with and some all-too-relatable moments for my wife, we were ultimately very disappointed.

1) I'll avoid spoilers, but essentially the messages sent by this movie to all the single people out there are depressing and incredibly shallow.

2) For a movie called "Materialists" that makes references to money consistently throughout, there was a shocking lack of eye candy in the film. Dinner scenes showed no food. Fancy homes were decorated by a beige monster. Not even travel porn.

3) I'm a fan of Dakota in general, but wow this is a stale performance. She's monotone and lacks any chemistry with the main characters. They interact as if she has a restraining order against them in real life but already signed up to do the movie together.

4) Everything. Is. So. Slow. The character's speak at a snail's pace. They also don't have conversations. Instead, they take turns reciting long monologues to each other. Scenes are drawn out in order to create drama and the soundtrack must just be a Pandora station called "Melodramatic Elevator Music." For a movie that centers around human connection, the main characters interacted like they were written by AI.

The marketing/pr for the film made it seem like this was going to be light, airy, and more of a rom-com. Sadly, that was not the case.

Verdict: Don't Watch.