USA | Finland 2025
Opening August 21, 2025

Directed by: Celine Song
Writing credits: Celine Song
Principal actors: Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans

Materialists isn’t your typical rom-com, and that’s a good thing. Celine Song’s follow-up to 2023’s Past Lives is glossier and more Hollywood, yet it still explores the complexities of modern love. Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a successful Manhattan matchmaker, meets the irresistibly charming and wealthy Harry (Pedro Pascal) at a client’s wedding. That same night she also runs into her ex, John (Chris Evans), a struggling actor she left because of financial incompatibility.

Although the film delivers the usual rom-com beats such as sharp banter and chance encounters, the story takes a darker turn when Lucy faces the fallout of a match that led to sexual assault. The leads are strong, though Johnson and Pascal’s chemistry feels slightly manufactured, perhaps intentionally. True to its title, Materialists examines what people truly value in relationships, often with money at the center, and questions whether love is ever enough. (Erin H.)