Materialists

Celine Song's second film, MATERIALISTS turns the classic American Rom-Com on its head, delivering an intelligent, heart-filled story that's unpredictable at every turn.

Song's debut film "Past Lives" was in my Top 4 films of 2023, a near perfect story of childhood romance rekindled and life's choices.

It seems almost impossible, but Song's even more confident in her storytelling in her sophomore film.

I'm going to tell you very little about the film and let her brilliant writing tell the tale fresh.

Here's a very top line view that reveals nothing of the true story within.

First, the opening scene of the film is shocking. A revelation, a bold stroke that made me smile with its soft, surprising tale that echoes in later years. Much later years.

We meet modern day Manhattan Matchmaker Lucy, played by Dakota Johnson in, by far, her best screen performance to date. We watch Lucy gather new clients and speak carefully to her current ones, whom she appears to genuinely care about. She's more therapist than matchmaker and Song's clever story structure drops in "direct-facing the camera" interviews with potential suitors describing their requirements for a mate that are hilarious, sad and often deeply telling.

At an incredibly lavish wedding (the 9th of her clients to tie the knot). Lucy meets Harry, the brother of the groom. Embodied by the perfectly cast Pedro Pascal (Eddington, Gladiator II), Harry is suave, seductive and very, very rich. He overhears Lucy making her pitch to some women at the reception and a salesman himself, he's impressed.

Also at the wedding, waiting on the singles table where Lucy and Harry are seated, is John, Lucy's former longtime boyfriend. A struggling actor, there is clearly history between them. Chris Evans (Captain America) is a long way from Steve Rogers here and he's all the better for it. It's a very different side of Evans.

That's all I'm saying.

The film constantly caught me by surprise with its intelligence.

I have seen "Past Lives" four times, it's that good, so I don't know why I was surprised by the depths of Song's writing here, but I was.

She has created a complicated story that's as messy as real life.

I found myself two thirds of the way through the film, hoping that two characters would get together and almost thinking I'd be angry if they didn't. But then Song

takes a hard right and nails the turn.

It's a pivot that I think very few Writer/Directors could manage without throwing me from my emotionally invested seat.

Then...she does it again.

The supporting players are flawlessly cast, offering up a gourmet banquet of characters and some surprisingly impactful drama of real consequence.

One of my favorite scenes is a long dinner sequence with Harry and Lucy each taking turns expressing their view of the mathematics of love and marriage. It's jaw dropping dialogue, some of the best I've heard in a very long time.

The music score by Daniel Pemberton (All the Money in the World, Yesterday) is the perfect NYC mood setter, from the back alleys where John loads catering trucks, to Harry's elegant $12 million Tribeca penthouse.

The photography by Shabier Kirchner (returning from Past Lives) is stunning in capturing major events to the film's quietest moments. His camera loves the city.

Song has said that her first notion of the film began around 10 years ago, when she worked for a professional matchmaking service for about six months. The story that she's woven from that experience is startling in its emotional complexity.

One character's monologue near the end of the film is as good as film writing gets. I am not going to say who or what, but trust me, you'll know it when you experience it.

Song's dialogue and stories really do speak to me on a much deeper level than most films.Based on her film's reception and success, they have the same impact on many others.

I would never have thought she could equal her first film this time out, but for me, MATERIALISTS is every bit "Past Lives" equal. There are moments of this story, particularly one client twist, that seemed an ill fit, but the final act more that gained back any lost ground for me.

Song's talent in bringing out the best in her actors is remarkable. These are the best performances on film for all three of her leads and Johnson is particularly good, bringing so many levels to Lucy that she becomes an enigma at the film's heart.

MATERIALISTS is a beautiful film that I can't wait to see again with my wife, then again with some discerning fellow film fans. There is far too much to see here for it to be captured at first glance.

An A+ and one of the best films of the year.