Materialists (2025) Review!!

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

My Take – Though writer-director Celine Song broke hearts in her debut feature with a story about love, loss, and the power of second chances in Past Lives (2023), her latest serves up a modern take on what love is in the current world. Structured as a genuinely captivating film, her sophomore effort offers an insightful and entertaining look at the current dating landscape, contemporary relationships, ambition and the subtle ways our desires shape our choices.

But unlike what the marketing suggests, in typical A24 style, this isn’t your typical glossy romantic comedy. Instead the narrative offers a thought-provoking insight into adult relationships with characters who are mature enough and realistic for us as viewers to get behind.

Sure, it contains those typical clichés we have seen many times before, like the grand romantic gestures and basic love triangle setup, yet, as a viewer I was delightfully surprised by the film’s ability to be completely self-aware of its genre tropes and knew exactly the kind of story it wanted to tell, all the while never forgetting to make us laugh, ache, and reflect all at once. I

nstead of relying on any kind of flashy editing, director Song trusts the performances of her trio of world famous stars, Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal & Chris Evans, and dialogue to carry the story, and the result is a grounded, emotionally intelligent film that respects both its characters and the audience.

The story follows Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a young and highly-skilled matchmaker in New York City who is known for her ability to find partners who check all the relationship boxes for her clients’ non-negotiable aspects. The kind of asks that are utterly outrageous, like over six feet tall, doesn’t like cats, no receding hairline, the age limit being under 30.

But to Lucy, love is like math. A business deal for people’s materialistic values. But as she is busy securing perfect matches for her clients, Lucy’s life takes an interesting turn at a client’s wedding when she meets the groom’s wealthy brother, Harry (Pedro Pascal), who steadily begins pursuing her and is perfect in every way she wanted.

In a coincidence of epic proportions, she also ends up running into her struggling actor ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans) at the same wedding, who is working there for the caterers. While she remains conflicted about her feelings, Lucy truly begins to question herself when a matchmaking she set up goes quite badly.

Indeed, what follows is mostly predictable and you’ll likely see every plot turn coming, but writer-director Song offers some thoughtful reflections on successful men’s outlook on dating, the difficulties older women encounter to find a match, and the universal longing for companionship. As much as we think we’ve evolved, the core idea of arranged matchmaking still lingers. Whether it’s the guy or the girl, a checklist which includes great income, good looks, solid education, and social standing, seems to define compatibility.

The film particularly highlights how rigid expectations in relationships can sometimes become barriers to genuine happiness, and how emotional range, empathy, and patience, elements that truly sustain a relationship over time, often get overlooked. One can invest in material things as much as they want, but they can never guarantee the success.

Even when someone looks perfect on paper, they might lack the emotional intelligence needed for a lasting bond. In the sense, Lucy’s eventual dilemma isn’t so much about choosing a life of opulence with Harry or a life of struggle with John but rather, about what each man represents for her. Harry is a perfect match on paper.

Her relationship with John has proven messy in the past. But before long, the question becomes about which of them truly knows her, and is willing to help see herself in ways she no longer can after cocooning herself off from the possibility of love.

The third act sees a surprising somber turns courtesy of Lucy’s self-effacing client named Sophie (Zoë Winters), who becomes the center of some surprisingly difficult scenes, both about her transactional friendship with Lucy, and about the underlying dangers of the blind dates pushed her way.

Though it does not exactly blend with the central love triangle, the subplot offers up a necessary reflection of the worst parts of Lucy’s career and her algorithmic approach to other people. Aside from that, we all know a rom-com is only as good as its resolution, and what makes this film compelling isn’t some twist or genre flip. It simply holds a mirror to the compromises we quietly make for love.

Performance wise, the gorgeous Dakota Johnson is all kinds of layered and brings an effective vulnerability to her role. Pedro Pascal is magnetic as always and revels in creating an air of mystery that works wonders on multiple fronts. Chris Evans is finally afforded the chance to play a rom-com lead whose charisma is sanded down by sheer exhaustion. This is one of the better roles he has had since his exit from the Captain America/Steve Rogers gig in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Without a doubt, the trio share excellent chemistry and bring out the best in each other.

However, the real (surprise) star of the feature is Zoë Winters, who despite her limited screen time stole every scene she was in and delivered a truly masterful performance. Marin Ireland, Dasha Nekrasova and Louisa Jacobson too are affable in smaller roles. On the whole, ‘Materialists‘ is a captivating, perfectly cast and surprisingly entertaining take on contemporary relationships and the current dating scene.