Materialists (2025): Review
I really enjoyed this movie and I think that it was definitely over-hated and perhaps a bit misunderstood by audiences. As someone who really enjoyed Song’s Past Lives, I understand going into this movie expecting something but then not getting it. I think that the story itself follows similar beats of the genre but I believe that if you watch this film through through the lens of a reflection of modern dating and ideals of love it becomes quite philosophically rich.
I think the casting was my main/only real gripe with this movie. Not that the actors in it are bad I just think that the star power brings in a lot of preconceived notions into the characters and can kind of be blinded by their star power.
I love Song and her writing and while the dialogue didn’t always hit for me, I think that the underlying themes that she was trying to get across deeply resonated with me as they are the kinds of things I often think about as well.
- attunement without knowing what to say (as evidenced by John not knowing what to say to Lucy after noticing she doesn’t seem to be doing alright)
- attraction to what they can do for you versus who they are (mentioned by Lucy when she talks about either liking Harry or the kind of places that he takes her to)
- capitalism and dating
- value and status
- dating as a marketplace
- dating as shopping
- the commoditization of dating by matchmakers and other services (as mentioned by Sophie to Lucy)
- you are the product!
- the idea of a person being inherently worth something
- love without romance
- economic anxiety about making a living and fighting about money
- dating and entitlement
- the oxymoron and paradox of dating preferences
- the switch up after rejection
- the expectation of a perfect match or soul mate
- emotional labor of matchmaking
- the physical type as law
- loneliness rejection and taking advantage of that fear
- marriage as the goal and the spectacle of marriage and partnership as status
- putting your best foot forward
- the narrowing and flattening of dating preferences which obscure and deemphasize personality
- the lying that happens in courtship to be someone that you’re not
- male insecurity about height and societal implications
- a match on paper versus in real life
- projections and telling people what they feel about you or how they should feel
- trade offs when choosing partners
- marriage/partnership as a business decision
- marriage/partnership as forever/life partner
- parental relationships as a model (to follow or diverge from)
The relationship between John and Lucy is not perfect and nor are the characters but that’s just real life!
- I particularly enjoyed how she employed imperfect characters. I don’t think they were completely fleshed, but I think that wasn’t really her intention. She was to develop the characters enough to establish motivation and tell the story that she wanted to tell.
- John doesn’t fully understand Lucy but he still always tries to be there for her.
- Lucy supports John’s endeavors to follow his dreams.
I remember seeing something about if the SA subplot was strictly necessary?
- It showed a lot about Lucy’s character and how she was not thinking about anything on any kind of human level
- It was the inciting action for her to think about if she wanted to actually continue a job that may have been poisoning her thinking and making her more callous of a person
- The movie didn’t show anything so it wasn’t gratuitous and i think it was handled with care in the movie just portrayed how it would be talked about in a corporate manner in the context of a matchmaking service
I think Song takes a more pessimistic viewpoint on dating under capitalism but a more optimistic realism about love more generally.
- I can’t quite diagnose where she falls on the idea of love as a feeling or love as a choice. The way that John talks about it he talks about eternal love and not being able to not love Lucy. Then with Lucy and Harry, Song also explores the idea of love not always sparking even if it should “on paper”.