‘Materialists’ review: Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans form Celine Song’s love triangle

Dir/scr: Celine Song. US. 2025. 116mins

For the follow-up to her Oscar-nominated debut Past Lives, writer-director Celine Song again uses a romantic triangle to explore the mysteries of attraction — and the eternal battle between the head and the heart. Materialists stars Dakota Johnson as a professional matchmaker who pairs up potential mates based on criteria such as height, age and, most important of all, finances. But her philosophy is challenged by a wealthy stranger (Pedro Pascal) and the return of her ex-boyfriend (Chris Evans), a broke but adoring actor. Although not without its narrative stumbles, this is a sharp look at modern love, which is often as much about the need for fiscal security as it is the pursuit of a mythical soulmate.

A sharp look at modern love

A24 reunites with Song to release Materialists in the US on June 13. (Sony will be handling other territories including the UK, where the film opens on August 15.) Past Lives grossed $43 million worldwide without major stars, and the fact that this new film boasts three of them should make this a fetching date-night option.

Materialists is set in New York, an obscenely expensive city where money dominates nearly every aspect of life. In this world, Lucy (Johnson) works for a matchmaking company whose wealthy, picky clients expect to be set up with their perfect partner. She is excellent at her job — nine of her clients have gone on to get married — and she believes in love, although she is exceedingly practical about the factors that impact compatibility, such as how much money prospective dates earn.

At a wedding for one client, she meets Harry (Pascal), who she judges to be a ‘unicorn’: matchmaker terminology that means he’s the ideal package for any woman. But Harry doesn’t want to hire Lucy — he wants to date her. Just then, Lucy also runs into John (Evans), a former boyfriend who is part of the wedding’s catering team, a dead-end job he needs to support himself while trying to keep his floundering acting career afloat.

Song continues to demonstrate a knack for nuanced characters and naturalistic, thoughtful dialogue. Teaming up with her Past Lives cinematographer Shabier Kirchner, she captures a lavish upper-crust New York, as well as the less well-heeled neighbourhoods inhabited by struggling artists such as John. On its surface, Materialists tackles familiar romantic-comedy debates — contentment versus passion, money versus happiness — but Song approaches these themes with a frankness that makes them feel fresh. Lucy may seem shallow — early on, she informs Harry that whoever she marries will have to be wealthy — but she’s a smart, sensitive person who is realistic about the issues that drive a wedge between couples, and Materialists is non-judgemental about her belief system.

All three leads pop, although Johnson has the most challenging role. It would be easy to turn Lucy into an icy, materialistic social climber, but the film has immense sympathy for the character, rendering her as someone who wants the best for her clients but remains guarded when it comes to her own romantic possibilities. Johnson conveys both Lucy’s professional sheen — an aloofness that carries over into her burgeoning relationship with Harry — and a gradual cracking of that steely exterior once she gets an unexpected taste of the downside of matchmaking.

Pascal brings extra dimensions to his so-called unicorn character, who slowly chips away at Lucy’s resistance to his charms. (For her, the maths don’t add up: in one pivotal scene, she explains why it’s not logical for him to date her when he could be seeing someone younger with a bigger bank account.) And Evans delivers one of his loveliest performances as John, a late-30s actor who wants Lucy back but knows he has nothing of fiscal value to offer her.

Romantic triangles can collapse if all three legs aren’t properly supported, and the film’s second half wobbles due to some strained plot twists and the script’s susceptibility to pat resolutions. Past Lives’ love story grappled with the nature of fate and destiny, and it’s striking to see Song’s new film put aside those cosmic concerns for the crushing practicality of money and convenience. Her conclusions are a bit predictable, and sometimes a little forced, but she remains entranced by the priceless intricacies of the human heart.