
Everyday, ordinary love. That’s what Past Lives writer–director Celine Song set out to explore in her new movie Materialists about living and loving in 2025 New York.
Materialists features Dakota Johnson as successful New York City matchmaker Lucy. While recruiting prospective clients at a wedding she made possible, she meets rich and successful Harry (Pedro Pascal). There is also her not so perfect ex John (Chris Evans), a struggling actor making a living by picking up odd catering jobs.
“It’s so cool to be in a movie about everyday love, kind of ordinary love with these three great actors,” Celine said in an interview.
Reviews for the movie, which released in theatres, have been mostly warm with many praising Celine for going beyond the romantic–comedy trope to explore modern dating and relationships through a pragmatic lens.
Celine is quite the romantic when it comes to love.
”It’ really hard to believe in love, especially in 2025, right? It’s very hard to believe in love over money. And it’s amazing, the idea that you can get rid of all your financial troubles by just marrying right. The fantasy is so amazing,” she said.
“But I think the greater fantasy is falling in love in a way that none of that matters. I think that’s a bigger happy ending because when that happens, when love happens, it’s a miracle,” the filmmaker said.
Which is why the word “deal” carries so much romance within it in the context of the movie, she said.
“I feel in another romantic film, ‘deal’ is not a romantic word but in this movie called Materialists, it is a very romantic word. And the other romantic line is ‘How would you like to make a very bad financial decision?’ I’m like that’s not a very romantic line in other movies, but in this one, it’s a very romantic line,” she said.
Like Past Lives, her 2023 film about a married writer reconnecting with her childhood sweetheart from South Korea, Materialists also stems from a personal space for the director.
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