Halfway by screening “Materialists,” the follow-up to Celine Music’s Oscar-nominated “Past Lives,” I notice I’ve the A24 romantic comedy all incorrect — partly as a result of the film is a bit too severe to suit, say, the Nora Ephron customary of rom-coms.
One more reason is that the movie’s imprecise synopsis hardly does justice to the poignant commentary you uncover on the coronary heart of it.
In “Materialists,” a younger, bold New York Metropolis matchmaker finds herself caught between Mr. Proper and an imperfect ex. That premise performs out clearly within the movie’s glittering trailer, which stars Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans in a simmering love triangle that appears like it will swell to the everyday dramatic stakes most would count on from a romantic drama.
At the least that’s what I thought.
However after watching “Materialists,” I discovered that a much more compelling narrative side-stepped that acquainted trope — one which thoughtfully explores the perils of affection and relationships, in addition to the shift in right this moment’s courting tradition. That was a sensible transfer on Music’s half, saving the movie’s strongest components for the total viewing expertise (one thing I want extra modern film trailers would do).
The preliminary draw of “Materialists” clearly lies in its charming lead forged and the attract of a brand new American romance that’s been grossly lacking from theaters. Nonetheless, the deeper story that unfolds inside it’s simply as engrossing, and extra importantly, subversive to the romance style, providing profound self-reflection along with the anticipated happily-ever-after.
“Materialists” follows lowly paid matchmaker Lucy (Johnson) on her quest to assist her elite New York Metropolis clientele of moneyed professionals discover their excellent love matches (a storyline hatched from Music’s personal stint as a matchmaker). Lucy’s course of is one thing like negotiating a company deal, which requires noting each pesky element her purchasers are searching for in a potential accomplice — the best physique, shared pursuits and hobbies, a school diploma, a six-figure wage and 6-foot peak to match for some — amongst different superficial traits nearly too ridiculous to checklist.
One shopper, a middle-aged Black girl, calls for a accomplice who’s a through-and-through conservative Republican. One other, a white man near his 50s, refuses to budge on his most age requirement, as a result of a lady in her 30s and 40s is manner too previous for his style, he says (even 29 is pushing it). A 27-year-old is extra his pace.
Lucy tolerates her purchasers’ shameless requests with a nod and a smile, as a result of that’s the character of her gig: fulfill the fantasy, provide the demand and discover the very best individual to get the deal executed. As a result of matchmaking, by her high-end company’s requirements, is the enterprise of discovering worth in an individual’s greatest qualities, principally these bodily and monetary. In a way, Lucy is aware of it’s a demoralizing method to discovering love, however she herself has a contradictory relationship with the idea.
At an workplace celebration thrown by her co-workers to have a good time her nine-marriage success charge, Lucy credit her abilities to the golden matchmaker’s rule: “If a girl asks for a tall drink of water with a salary over $500,000, you deliver.”
Humorous sufficient, Lucy is simply as materialistic in her personal love life. She refuses to cool down till she meets the person of her goals — somebody who’s painfully, “achingly” wealthy. Nonetheless, she brushes off the primary “unicorn,” as she calls such good-looking and rich rarities, she meets at a shopper’s marriage ceremony.
The unicorn in query is Harry (Pascal), a good-looking, charming, tall drink of water who’s very, very wealthy — and solely has eyes for Lucy. The issue is, she doesn’t assume she deserves the non-public fairness dealer’s cash or affections (or $12 million condo) as a result of, in her thoughts, she’s nugatory and has nothing higher to supply however her profitable matchmaking companies. A failed actress in debt and solely raking in $80,000 a yr, Lucy is satisfied that Harry can do higher. He thinks in any other case.
Lucy affords to introduce the eligible Manhattan bachelor to different girls he’d be excellent for, however, in basic rom-dram style, Harry is decided to court docket solely her. However there’s a fork in his plan when Lucy’s difficult waiter ex, John (Evans), crashes the celebration.
In a flashback, we be taught simply how a lot historical past runs deep between the matchmaker and the struggling actor: They had been collectively for 5 years to be precise, in response to an anniversary date that went from dangerous to worse. It’s whereas working late to dinner reservations (which include a pricey no-show payment) in John’s previous hoopty that Lucy realizes she’s bored with being a broke girl courting a broke man in New York Metropolis (with roommates). So, they break up — however now this marriage ceremony is their probability at a reunion.
It’s unstated when John and Lucy embrace, having gone years with out seeing one another, however there’s nonetheless unfinished enterprise between the 2. And simply as Lucy is making a good dwelling serving to others discover love, John swoops in to remind her who launched her to it within the first place.
That’s if you assume “Materialists” goes to veer off to comply with a tangled affair between Lucy and her two suitors, confronted with having to decide on between a promising new love and an previous flame. A story as previous as time.
For essentially the most half, this plotline continues all through the rest of the film. I’ll skip forward to keep away from main spoilers — simply know Lucy makes a alternative and will get her pleased ending, even when it’s not the traditional one she all the time imagined.
That’s not even essentially the most fascinating half of “Materialists.” Actually, it pales compared to what Music actually tries to get at in her sophomore function movie: how true soul connections rebuke the self-love of the trendy courting world, the place singles are extra involved with discovering an aspirational sort of love that appears good on paper.
“The things that are in the movie came from the truth I learned,” Music stated within the movie’s manufacturing notes, referencing her time as a courting guide. “That there is a very funny, very dark objectification of each other’s humanity, and therefore a very real commodification of each other, as we go through this thing that we call dating. But it’s supposed to be in pursuit of love.”
That’s a message the writer-director drives dwelling within the opening scene of “Materialists,” which reveals a prehistoric cave couple exploring what might be the primary human marriage, as they wordlessly alternate a flower ring symbolic of right this moment’s diamond ring proposal. However there aren’t any costly gems to gawk at or flashy jewellery to point out off to mates, household and, in right this moment’s time, social media — simply two individuals in love.
The disconnect between that and right this moment’s superficial box-checking tradition, in addition to the best way love is these days in fixed dialog with cash, is one thing Music is especially involved in probing in “Materialists” — even when it takes some time to spherical out her level.
Talking on her movie’s intention, Music instructed the Los Angeles Occasions: “We’re not just showing up here to be in love and beautiful and get to be in a rom-com. We’re also going to take this opportunity to talk about something. Because that’s the power of the genre. Our favorite rom-coms are the ones where we get to start a conversation about something.”
That dialogue lastly takes form in “Materialists” after the indulgence of a tangled love triangle, when an unthinkable shopper disaster bursts Lucy’s bubble about her line of labor.
At first of the movie, we meet the matchmaker’s hardest shopper, Sophie (Zoë Winters). Not robust as a result of she’s troublesome to please, or unattractive, or not an ideal catch — she simply desperately desires to satisfy a pleasant man who likes her for who she is. However that breed is seemingly arduous to search out in NYC, as Lucy struggles to search out Sophie the proper man. Nonetheless, her shopper topics herself to the indignities of futile dates in hopes of hanging gold.
Nonetheless, the fact of that smacks Lucy within the face when she learns that one match she despatched Sophie on a date with sexually assaulted her. Lucy’s boss (Marin Eire) breaks the information, instructing her to not attain out to Sophie or get too hung up on the assault. Based on Lucy’s boss, when you keep within the matchmaking enterprise lengthy sufficient, sexual violence turns into fairly frequent. Bleak, but true to the ugliness of the true world.
Music does one thing daring right here by venturing into darker territory. Nonetheless, I struggled to grasp her level of utilizing sexual trauma as a story gadget to awaken Lucy from her personal callousness and expose the exploits of an trade. It’s not sufficient to name consideration to a social challenge as delicate as this with no correct decision. Whereas that sobering plot helps clarify why Lucy is at a crossroads in her love liaison gig, it doesn’t convey a lot readability to her love life.
That thriller lingers on the finish of the movie, when Lucy lastly confronts her superficial ideologies of affection. Possibly it’s a soul-bearing declaration from John that pushes her to that time. Or maybe a clumsy encounter with Harry about an unbelievable beauty surgical procedure — critically, you need to hear the ridiculous clarification that lives as much as the film’s title.
Both manner, “Materialists” leaves us with loads to ponder after the credit roll.
The movie places itself in dialog with a lot of its references, from “Sense and Sensibility” to “Pride & Prejudice,” but nonetheless manages to contribute to the romance canon with a singular fashionable lens. It doesn’t hinge on the gamble of affection as a lot because it does on the remark of what many understand like to be.
Whether or not it’s discovering monetary safety, the best individual to develop previous with, or a soulmate you may’t dwell with out, “Materialists” affords no simple solutions there. Solely a disquieting reality that the idea will all the time be deeply misunderstood.
