MATERIALISTS -- Sweet and Sincere

Review by Adam Donato

Celine Song made a strong impression with her debut film, Past Lives. Getting a best picture nomination on your first try is special. Her follow up is a romance film starring a love triangle of Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal. Materialists has the opportunity to easily become the top grossing A24 movie as Warfare holds the lead with $26 million domestically. With big movie stars and a prime June release date, Materialists should take advantage of a theatrical landscape devoid of films targeted towards women specifically. It’s also just nice to see an original movie out in theaters, especially when the summer is packed with remakes and sequels. Still, a movie like this needs to have good word of mouth to sell tickets so can it win the hearts of audiences?

By all means, Materialists delivers and should become a summer hit. While it may not snag a best picture nomination, it’s clear that Celine Song is no one hit wonder. She has a clear handle on creating relatable characters and having something meaningful to say about relationships. Hopefully the film’s critical success is met with box office success so Song can make whatever she wants going forward. Easily one of the best new filmmakers in the game right now. 

Dakota Johnson is in desperate need of a big win after Madame Web crashed and burned. Her performance here is arguably her best ever. Her character is so proactive and relatable. It’s clear she has a passion for her profession and is also a very jaded individual personally. There’s several monologues for her character about dating and love that really hit home. Even when faced with adversity that isn’t directly her fault, her feelings are so understandable and heartbreaking. 

Evans and Pascal are welcome additions to this romance film as audiences with crushes on these two have been clamoring to see them in something that isn’t just a blockbuster. Evans does more of the heavy lifting here, but Pascal’s character is more subdued. This does give way to a great moment of vulnerability for Pascal’s character though. Evans has had a tumultuous stretch post Avengers: Endgame so seeing him pull off a real human being performance in an actual good movie is refreshing. Superhero movies and franchise films sometimes monopolize the time of the biggest actors of the day so it’s great to see them doing something different here.

Materialists is certain to create discourse about the dating world, which will hopefully inspire couples to go out to the theater. It’s certainly worth their time as the film is as sweet as can be. It is like a more upscale version of the hit Will Smith rom com, Hitch. Big Hollywood actors being in movies that aren’t covered in special effects are a necessary part of the cinematic landscape and Materialists is a must see summer romance. Celine Song is a must watch director going forward. 

Materialists will be in theaters on Jun 13.

Rating: 4/5