I Loved 'Materialists,' But This Is the One Thing It Got Wrong

After seeing Past Lives in 2023, I eagerly awaited a sophomore film from writer and director Celine Song. On June 13, Materialists, starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal, will hit theaters. I was able to see it in an early screening, and found it had all the tender melancholia that I now come to see as Song's signature. The film was a beautiful contemplation about love and the value we accord to ourselves and others. However, I couldn't help but disagree with one key tenet.

Materialists stars Dakota Johnsons as successful matchmaker Lucy. She's recently gotten out of a five-year relationship, which ended because, as both she and her now ex-boyfriend, John (Chris Evans), concede, they were broke and tired of fighting about money.

Lucy meets the dashing Harry Castillo (Pedro Pascal) at his brother's wedding, for which Lucy was responsible. Harry is a "perfect match" in all the ways John wasn't. To quote Lucy: "You were born rich, raised rich and stayed rich." Over six feet tall. Tribeca penthouse. Picks up checks that would make the average person's eyes water. As Lucy says, Harry is a ten out of ten in every category.

Her world and ideas about love begin to unravel when, moments after meeting Harry, John, still a struggling actor, appears as a cater-waiter at the wedding. Lucy embarks on a relationship with Harry, but finds that love isn't easily confined to checkmarks and "good on paper" compatibility, especially after a work catastrophe has her questioning everything she knows about what makes someone the perfect match.

The one thing I think Materialists had wrong was Lucy's constant refrain that love should be easy. A "you know it when you feel it" situation. However, in examining many long-lasting relationships of my friends and family, I've realized that love isn't easy at all.

“As your relationship grows, your hormones will no longer be the driver of the feelings,” licensed marriage and family therapist Elizabeth Earnshaw tells Psych Central. “This means you need to be the driver of the feelings. You do this by actively choosing to be a loving partner.”

Lust—which we often conflate with love—is easy. It's that burning passion, the first spark. The uncontrollable magnetic pull. But love? It's a choice. A choice to wake up every morning and be committed to the person you've chosen. Committed when you're angry. Committed when you're hurt. Committed when you're broke.

In that way, perhaps this isn't so much the film's error as it is the protagonist's flawed belief that must be dismantled. The story ultimately becomes a question of what we are willing to do for love, even if it doesn't make sense, even if it doesn't check all our boxes.

Because, sure, he might be a man in finance, 6'4'', blue eyes, with a $12 million Tribeca penthouse...but, to paraphrase one character in the movie, if love isn't on the table...what is?

Materialists is in theaters beginning June 13. A moving pick for fans of romantic comedies and anyone who wants a humorous commentary on the contemporary dating scene. I, for one, am inclined to see it again.