Film Review: Materialists 錢財心愛物 (2025) - USA
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critic Circle of Australia)
I rated it 8/10
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Celine Song’s "Past Lives" arrived like a whispered secret, a film of profound quietude and aching, unspoken longing. With her follow-up, “Materialists”, Song doesn't just raise her voice; she sharpens it into a stiletto. This is a film that crackles with cynical energy, trades poetic destiny for spreadsheets and status, and somehow emerges as one of the funniest, most bracingly honest examinations of modern love – or perhaps, modern partnership – in recent memory. Forget meet-cutes and grand gestures; here, romance is a high-stakes negotiation, and Dakota Johnson’s Lucy is its ruthless, fascinatingly brittle broker.
Johnson, delivering her most compelling performance since "The Lost Daughter," is Lucy, a high-end Manhattan matchmaker. She doesn't deal in hearts and flowers; she engineers mergers of compatibility, social standing, and financial portfolios. Love, in Lucy’s world, is a quantifiable asset, and she approaches it with the dry, calculating precision of a Wall Street analyst closing a deal. Johnson masterfully layers this professional chill with flickers of something deeper – a burgeoning existential dread that her perfectly curated life might be built on emotional quicksand. Her mask of control is impeccable, yet the cracks are starting to show, especially around the eyes.
The catalyst for her unraveling is a classic triangle, but Song brilliantly subverts the trope. On one vertex: Peter (Pedro Pascal, oozing charm laced with practiced vulnerability), a phenomenally wealthy, recently divorced client. He’s the "perfect match" on paper – successful, attentive, offering a gilded cage of security. Pascal avoids caricature, letting us see the loneliness and the transactional nature of his own desires beneath the slick surface. On the opposing vertex: Jimmy (Chris Evans, shedding Captain America like an ill-fitting suit), Lucy’s chaotic, perpetually broke ex-boyfriend. Evans is a revelation here, radiating a soulful, scruffy authenticity. His currency isn't dollars, but raw, inconvenient emotional honesty. He’s a walking liability, yet he reminds Lucy of a messy, feeling self she thought she’d outgrown.
The film meticulously dissects the "material" costs of partnership: the price of security versus the cost of passion, the social capital gained or lost, the literal arithmetic of shared apartments and future children. It’s a rom-com where the most intense scenes involve salary discussions and pre-nup anxieties, rendered with biting humor and unsettling truth.
The chemistry between Johnson, Pascal, and Evans is the film’s pulsating engine. Their interactions are charged with professional calculation, unresolved history, sexual tension, and genuine, conflicting affection. You believe Lucy’s pull towards both men, not just as romantic prospects, but as embodiments of entirely different life paths and value systems.
Does "Materialists" land with the devastating, quiet gut-punch of "Past Lives"? No. It operates on a different, more cerebral, and ultimately more cynical frequency. But that’s its strength. Song has crafted a film that’s smarter, sharper, and far more attuned to the messy, pragmatic realities of love in a world obsessed with acquisition and status. It’s a film for adults who understand that choosing a partner is rarely just about the heart; it’s a complex negotiation involving the wallet, the social ladder, and the very definition of a "good life." Johnson anchors it with a performance of brittle brilliance, supported by Pascal and Evans operating at the top of their game. “Materialists” confirms Celine Song as not just a talented filmmaker, but a vital one, proving she can dissect the complexities of the wallet with the same surgical precision and profound insight she brought to the complexities of the heart. It’s a cold shower of a film, and you’ll feel invigorated, and perhaps a little chilled, long after it’s over. (Neo, 2025)