MATERIALISTS (2025)

Genre: Romance/Drama
Director: Celine Song
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, Zoe Winters, Marin Ireland, Dasha Nekrasova
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Mature Content)
Released By: Sony Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 28 August 2025

Synopsis: A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.

Movie Review:

Writer-director Celine Song returns with another exploration of the elusive concept of love. Is it a calculated transaction or is Cupid truly at work?

Dakota Johnson stars as Lucy Mason, a professional matchmaker in New York who ironically prefers to stay single, or, if she must marry, to choose someone wealthy. At a former client’s wedding reception, Lucy is approached by the groom’s brother, Harry (Pedro Pascal, a.k.a. “Mr. Fantastic”), a charming, affluent banker who owns a sprawling Tribeca penthouse. One moment they’re exchanging flirty banter; the next, they’re in bed.

Is this the start of true love? Perhaps even a fairy-tale wedding?

Enter Lucy’s ex-boyfriend, John (Chris Evans), a struggling part-time actor and cater-waiter who reappears years after their breakup which happened over, of all things, parking money. Unsurprisingly, a love triangle begins to take shape.

But Song isn’t here to give us a breezy Nora Ephron or Nancy Meyers-style rom-com. Materialists digs into the complexities and frustrations of modern dating, requiring some patience as it unpacks Lucy’s cynical views on marriage and romance. In the most commercial way imaginable, Lucy “sells” love to the richest, the loneliest, and those desperate for companionship. She believes there’s a match for everyone except herself.

Caught between a wealthy man and someone who sees right through her (and still loves her despite his beat-up Volvo and near-empty bank account), Lucy’s dilemma feels most compelling in her scenes with John. Song’s script offers glimpses of why they split, making their dynamic more magnetic than Lucy’s lust-at-first-sight romance with Harry.

The film occasionally detours into a subplot involving Sophie, one of Lucy’s clients, who ends up matched with an abusive man and blames Lucy for it. While this thread adds a layer of drama, it ultimately feels more like a distraction than a meaningful addition. Cutting it might have allowed for more development of Harry though, to be fair, Pedro Pascal’s character suffers from corny writing and an unnecessary “twist.”

The three leads are naturally charismatic: Johnson redeems herself after the Madame Web misfire, Evans proves he’s still got leading-man appeal and Pascal oozes charm despite the script’s missteps.

Ultimately, Materialists caters to audiences looking for a less conventional romantic comedy. There are flashes of sharp humor such as Song poking fun at older men who only date younger women but these moments are too scarce to win over mainstream rom-com fans. Still, the film serves as a cinematic love letter to New York, making the most of on-location shoots in Manhattan and Brooklyn despite not ticking all the right boxes.

Movie Rating:

(A mature love story on modern dating)

Review by Linus Tee