Materialists
Review: Consider this your official warning that this film is not a rom com! The film is certainly romantic. And it certainly has some great jokes & comedic elements. But the film is better described as a drama than a comedy. We can call it a rom dramedy though and move on with our day. The film features a great love triangle (check out my list on the best movie love triangles coming soon!) between Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a matchmaker in New York City torn between her former love, the broke John (Chris Evans) & her new flame, the uber rich Harry (Pedro Pascal). The film quickly solidified itself as the best romance movie of the year, as well as the upper echelon of overall films I have personally seen this year. It was beautifully shot so huge credit to director, Celine Song, and cinematographer, Shabier Kirchner & also had some fantastic writing, so credit again to Celine Song. There were some solid one liners, gut punch lines, & also some super great monologues.
High: All three of the lead actors give some of their best performances. This is far and away the best performance I have personally seen from Johnson (though the only other lead performance I’ve seen from her is ‘Madame Web’ so the bar wasn’t super high). While I’m not sure if this is Evans’ best performance, it is certainly one of his most raw roles that contains a lot of emotional depth that he portrays very well, often with just an expression. And no, this is not Pedro Pascal’s performance even though his performance may have been the best (I love the spotlight it shines on the perks of being tall, as we are a hugely under represented people group), the bar for his performances is just significantly higher than the other two. I also HAVE to shoutout Zoë Winters who played Lucy’s client, Sophie, and gave a stellar performance in limited screen time.
Low: With a runtime of 117 minutes, I honestly feel as though the film could’ve been a tad longer and I would’ve enjoyed it a tad more. Certain aspects of it maybe felt a bit rushed and maybe 5-10 more minutes of the film would’ve helped give it just a little something extra.
Rating: 8.5/10
Rec: If you’re looking for a good, lesser known love triangle film, check out the 1995 remake of ‘Sabrina’ on MGM+ or available to rent with most services. The film stars Julia Ormond as a woman torn between two brothers, played by Harrison Ford & Greg Kinnear. If you’re looking for a good Pedro Pascal performance, check out ‘Freaky Tales,’ an action anthology film that can be streamed on most services. If you want another good, emotional Chris Evans performance, check out the miniseries ‘Defending Jacob’ on Apple TV+. And if you want a good Dakota Johnson performance, check out her interview with Ellen where she proves Ellen was invited to her birthday party and didn’t come, that led to the talk show host’s eventual downfall.
