Materialists review by Bobby Blakey
With the 2023 film Past Lives, director Celine Song set a strong tone of her voice on film to make her one to watch. Her latest film, Materialists brings together a strong cast of Marvel alums including Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal. Could this A-list cast bring the magic to romance, or will it be too materialistic for it to deliver?
Materialists follow an energetic and attractive young woman who is employed at a match making agency. She is doing very well in her job of finding suitable matches for her clients. She is single and while attending a wedding she finds herself attracted to a rich man. Around the same time, she meets her not so well-off ex-boyfriend. While she deals with the affections of both men she faces a dilemma. While the rich suitor is materialistic and offers her a comfortable lifestyle the other loves her deeply and promises to raise his living standards. Now she must make a choice.
I must admit that this movie didn’t interest me all that much outside of the cast so went in with very low expectations. As it began, I found an interesting concept dealing with the matchmaker industry and could see the void of feelings and more business transactions that could be something compelling. It didn’t take long before it then shifted into a love triangle of sorts that derailed the story into a jumbled mess of multiple ideas and story elements without committing to anything.
The cast are all fine, but the film just drags at a snail’s pace never really pulling you in. Every so often there is that nugget that delivers and seems like we are
about to do something and then back to the slog of the lost story. For a film about romance there is very little of it here and that would have been perfect had they stuck to the highs and lows of the match-making industry which are the only interesting parts of the story. There is a heavy direction it takes at one point dealing with the dangers of the industry and the people that could have been such a great story to focus on, but instead it is a side element to push into her romantic situation and more of who cares.
I sadly lost interest early on but stuck it out hoping it would eventually bring something to the table. The final act does pull you in a bit, but not enough to save the film from going in a cliched direction and nowhere at the same time. I am sure there is an audience that will be all about it, but for me it was a relationship I just didn’t care about.
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Decide for yourself and check out Materialists available now on Blu-ray and DVD from A24.