Materialists Review: Dakota Gets 2 Shades of Charm in Pedro and Chris
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
A fun ‘love triangle’ is when you clearly root for one candidate over the other, but a great ‘love triangle’ is when you’re okay with the protagonist choosing either options, or even with no one at all. At least that’s how I felt with ‘Materialists’: Dakota Johnson could’ve walked into the sunset with Pedro Pascal, or Chris Evans, or just with her heels and bag, and any ending would’ve been satisfying in its own way.
Written and directed by Celine Song, ‘Materialists’ stars Dakota Johnson as Lucy, a successful match-maker with a firm called ‘Adore’. Lucy meets the handsome, charming, millionaire Harry (Pedro Pascal) at a client’s wedding, where she also runs into her attractive ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans), the latter happens to be a server at the venue with a struggling acting career on the sides. Lucy wants Harry as her client, Harry wants to take her on dates, and John seems to still have feelings for Lucy, but knows the ‘math’ is not in his favor. The conundrum is familiar, just like love around the world is.
The film explores modern dating through the lens of both Lucy and her clients, and what makes ‘Materialists‘ really tick is the easy, comfortable chemistry Dakota Johnson has with both Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans. There’s no awkwardness between either pair, not even when Harry meets Lucy for the first time, he comes across as effortlessly suave right from the start. In another universe, Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal could’ve made a near-perfect Pepper Potts and Tony Stark. I say “another universe” because after the ‘Madame Web‘ fiasco, it’s unlikely we’ll see Dakota in a superhero film anytime soon. With Chris’ character, Dakota slips into a Notebook-style setup, he polished woman drawn to the reckless, rugged heartthrob.
Oddly, or perhaps as a deliberate artistic choice, a lot of ‘Materialists’ feels like a stage play. There’s something rehearsed in the way the characters speak, with the bulk of the dialogue sounding inorganic. Yet, this slightly artificial tint to the tale didn’t bother me in the way some other films have in the past. Maybe it’s because of a certain early 2000s charm to the story, although, be warned, this isn’t a romantic-comedy and dives into the perils of modern dating in the second-half.
‘Materialists’ is peppered with Lucy’s meetings with her matchmaking clients, both men and women with largely absurd or unrealistically specific requirements, which provide both comic relief and reflective moments in the film. To one client who hands over an intimidatingly large list of things she’s looking for in a man, Lucy exasperatedly responds, saying: “If the service I was providing you was building you a man, then of course I can build you a man with everything on this list. But I can’t, because this is not a car or a house.”
Oh well, that’s ultimately the familiar, age-old message of Materialists: we may have detailed checklists for our ideal partner, but more often than not, the people who seem to tick every box don’t quite match the version we imagined. The ending is sweet and emotional, and ironically goes against the very idea suggested by the film’s title, which is clearly a deliberate subversion of expectations.
Rating: 8 on 10.
Read Next: Heretic Review: Hugh Grant Is a Cult-Level Creep in Tense Horror Tale
Also Read: Pune Highway Review: Serves 90s Style Thrills (Audio Version Below)
