Movie Review: Materialists
We’ve heard the term “elevated horror”, which describes a horror film that is both scary but also features social commentary of some kind and is made with a different level of artistry from the standard horror movie. But the term “elevated romantic comedy” isn’t nearly as popular a phrase in the cinematic lexicon. Much like an elevated horror movie, elevated romantic comedies have plots and characters that feel like they are from a typical romantic comedy, but the film is made with more intelligence and artistic vision than a typical romantic comedy. Think of movies like A Philadelphia Story, Broadcast News, or When Harry Met Sally….
Celine Song’s Materialists, her follow-up to her Oscar-nominated debut Past Lives, is an example of an elevated romantic comedy, and one of the few of its kind in recent years. It’s a film that you could easily take out one or two plot elements, add a few more slapstick jokes, and cast Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, and it could have come out in 2007. But thanks to Song’s strong visual eye and patience, it’s several steps above that.
Dakota Johnson plays Lucy, a woman who works for a match-making company in New York. She works on matching people up based on similarities and preferences, like how much money they make, their profession, family background, etc. Lucy sees people as puzzle pieces and is trying to find two pieces that fit together. Lucy herself is single but focuses more on setting up others than worrying about her own love life.
At the wedding of one of her clients, Lucy meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), a charming and wealthy financier, who wants to take Lucy out on a date. At the same wedding, Lucy runs into John (Chris Evans, his best performance since Knives Out), her ex-boyfriend and struggling actor with whom she still has feelings for. The two men couldn’t be more different, which puts Lucy to the test by forcing her to figure out what she truly wants out of a relationship.
Materialists is a classic love triangle film. It’s one woman who can’t decide between the wealthy and charming but cold businessman or the love of her past, who drives a beat-up car and still lives with two roommates. Lucy starts the film wanting to be with someone with money and status because she didn’t come from any. She knows what her puzzle piece looks like, and there is potential with Harry. John is the opposite of Harry in every way imaginable and doesn’t fit the profile Lucy ideally wants, but does that matter? The journey of Materialists isn’t necessarily who Lucy ends up with, but the understanding of what ultimately makes for a happy and healthy relationship.
Song’s writing and directing are superb. Taking influence from filmmakers James L. Brooks and Woody Allen to authors like Jane Austen, she crafted a portrait of what it means to love and be loved while also showing what it is like to date in the modern world. The way she shoots Lucy’s interactions with Harry versus how she shoots Lucy and John is genius. With Harry, there are a lot of wide shots, allowing us to bask in the beauty of Harry’s life, like his condo or the expensive restaurants he takes Lucy to. But the spaces are big, and the camera rarely has the two of them in a close-up together, giving a cold, distancing feeling between the two of them. With John, Song shoots Johnson and Evans closer, holding on continuous shots of a hug or of the two each lighting a cigarette. These are more intimate shots, showing their chemistry and love for each other, but their conversations always end in a way that makes you understand why they broke up. It’s great work by Song and shows her growth as an artist from her first film.
Materialists is not a perfect romantic comedy. It is very light on comedy, it runs a bit too long, Pascal’s performance leaves something to be desired, and there is a plot about a sexual assault that seems like a good idea to show the scariness of doing a match making service and meeting strangers but isn’t handled in the best way possible. Still, Materialists is a classic rom-com story elevated because of Song’s strong direction.
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