August 15, 2025
FILM: MATERIALISTS
DIRECTED BY: CELINE SONG
STARRING: DAKOTA JOHNSON, CHRIS EVANS, PEDRO PASCAL
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I recently saw the musical Fiddler on the Roof for the first time. I know it’s been around forever and I’ve seen LOTS of Broadway shows but somehow, on the surface, it didn’t appeal to me as a show to seek out. However, the great production I saw in Skokie, Illinois made me aware of just how well-crafted and rich the show is. It takes place in early 20th century as modernity begins to counter various Jewish traditions, particularly within the context of love and marriage. As the show illustrates, these two concepts may have come together only in the last century. During Jewish life in the 1800s, for instance, marriages were arranged by a matchmaker. There was believed to be a logical and practical reason for two people to be together for the rest of their lives. In the musical, when the younger generation starts bringing love into the mix, it confuses their elders who ask each other, “Do you love me?” as if to question whether their old-fashioned marriage relates to the newer ways of thinking.
Celine Song’s latest film Materialists interestingly draws some parallels to this age-old question. Dakota Johnson plays matchmaker Lucy who works for the rich at an exclusive company in modern day New York City where clients pay thousands of dollars to get matched up with a suitable partner. The company is quite calculated in its matchmaking approach. The term “math” is used a lot in the film because that’s just what goes into the matches that are developed. We hear the client requests for partners including their desires for specific races, ages, income levels, heights, and so on. In essence, it’s like the algorithms we use today for movies, music, and TV. Dating apps function in the same way. Are these mathematical equations truly matching us up with what we need? Have we returned back to an earlier time before love entered the equation when a relationship is formed based on practical concerns?
What I liked so much about Song’s last film, Past Lives, was how it depicted the complexity of relationships today. In that case a woman already has a husband when her childhood love from South Korea visits her in the U.S. Which relationship qualifies as “true” love? Perhaps they both do. Maybe they meet different needs. She explores these complexities in a different manner in Materialists. Lucy’s clients want to be matched with someone but what is it that they really want? Stability? Companionship? Love? Does it matter anymore?
Johnson plays Lucy in a fairly cold and calculated way which works well with where the character is at in her life and with what her role is within this company. She’s got a former lover named John, played by Chris Evans, who has always been in love with her. However, he is a struggling actor, lives with two roommates, and has very little financial stability to offer. Into the picture walks Pedro Pascal as Harry, the brother of a man who has just married one of Lucy’s clients. On the surface, he seems to have everything one might want: he’s got money, a VERY expensive apartment, and he’s good looking. Is he the right match for Lucy? Maybe, but then a disturbing situation occurs between another of Lucy’s clients and a man with whom she is set up. This gives Lucy a new perspective to consider regarding matchmaking and she begins to question exactly what she is doing with her life.
While Johnson is good in the early scenes, I questioned her casting when Lucy begins a transition into a deeper character. Johnson still comes across as a somewhat robotic presence. She definitely tries, especially in the scene with her upset client, but something is missing in her ability to access deeper emotions to make the character’s arc more believable.
Pascal is fine as Harry. It’s certainly a different role from what we’ve seen in his recent work, including The Last of Us. He’s charged with being more romantic and affluent, which he pulls off fairly well. It’s Chris Evans who stands out the most as John though. He captures the struggling New Yorker persona quite well. He’s also very relatable and genuine in the role.
I did like the film quite a bit but I thought the plot was wrapped up a bit too neatly in the end. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing it’s just not quite as daring as what Song did with Past Lives. Still, she raises some great questions as she examines relationships a quarter of the way into the 21st century. Are we moving too bar back into practical relationships? Are they more realistic today as they might have been in the 19th Century? However, is it good old 20th Century love that we really need?
Materialists is now available to rent/buy on Amazon Prime.
FILM: MATERIALISTS
DIRECTED BY: CELINE SONG
STARRING: DAKOTA JOHNSON, CHRIS EVANS, PEDRO PASCAL
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I recently saw the musical Fiddler on the Roof for the first time. I know it’s been around forever and I’ve seen LOTS of Broadway shows but somehow, on the surface, it didn’t appeal to me as a show to seek out. However, the great production I saw in Skokie, Illinois made me aware of just how well-crafted and rich the show is. It takes place in early 20th century as modernity begins to counter various Jewish traditions, particularly within the context of love and marriage. As the show illustrates, these two concepts may have come together only in the last century. During Jewish life in the 1800s, for instance, marriages were arranged by a matchmaker. There was believed to be a logical and practical reason for two people to be together for the rest of their lives. In the musical, when the younger generation starts bringing love into the mix, it confuses their elders who ask each other, “Do you love me?” as if to question whether their old-fashioned marriage relates to the newer ways of thinking.
Celine Song’s latest film Materialists interestingly draws some parallels to this age-old question. Dakota Johnson plays matchmaker Lucy who works for the rich at an exclusive company in modern day New York City where clients pay thousands of dollars to get matched up with a suitable partner. The company is quite calculated in its matchmaking approach. The term “math” is used a lot in the film because that’s just what goes into the matches that are developed. We hear the client requests for partners including their desires for specific races, ages, income levels, heights, and so on. In essence, it’s like the algorithms we use today for movies, music, and TV. Dating apps function in the same way. Are these mathematical equations truly matching us up with what we need? Have we returned back to an earlier time before love entered the equation when a relationship is formed based on practical concerns?
What I liked so much about Song’s last film, Past Lives, was how it depicted the complexity of relationships today. In that case a woman already has a husband when her childhood love from South Korea visits her in the U.S. Which relationship qualifies as “true” love? Perhaps they both do. Maybe they meet different needs. She explores these complexities in a different manner in Materialists. Lucy’s clients want to be matched with someone but what is it that they really want? Stability? Companionship? Love? Does it matter anymore?
Johnson plays Lucy in a fairly cold and calculated way which works well with where the character is at in her life and with what her role is within this company. She’s got a former lover named John, played by Chris Evans, who has always been in love with her. However, he is a struggling actor, lives with two roommates, and has very little financial stability to offer. Into the picture walks Pedro Pascal as Harry, the brother of a man who has just married one of Lucy’s clients. On the surface, he seems to have everything one might want: he’s got money, a VERY expensive apartment, and he’s good looking. Is he the right match for Lucy? Maybe, but then a disturbing situation occurs between another of Lucy’s clients and a man with whom she is set up. This gives Lucy a new perspective to consider regarding matchmaking and she begins to question exactly what she is doing with her life.
While Johnson is good in the early scenes, I questioned her casting when Lucy begins a transition into a deeper character. Johnson still comes across as a somewhat robotic presence. She definitely tries, especially in the scene with her upset client, but something is missing in her ability to access deeper emotions to make the character’s arc more believable.
Pascal is fine as Harry. It’s certainly a different role from what we’ve seen in his recent work, including The Last of Us. He’s charged with being more romantic and affluent, which he pulls off fairly well. It’s Chris Evans who stands out the most as John though. He captures the struggling New Yorker persona quite well. He’s also very relatable and genuine in the role.
I did like the film quite a bit but I thought the plot was wrapped up a bit too neatly in the end. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing it’s just not quite as daring as what Song did with Past Lives. Still, she raises some great questions as she examines relationships a quarter of the way into the 21st century. Are we moving too bar back into practical relationships? Are they more realistic today as they might have been in the 19th Century? However, is it good old 20th Century love that we really need?
Materialists is now available to rent/buy on Amazon Prime.