Materialists (2025)★ 6.3/10

A film that proposes a beautiful, calculated, and sometimes uncomfortably precise romance. It was created for a contemporary adult audience, a romance that doesn't romanticize love.

Although it's not your usual sugary romantic comedy, its subtle irony, elegant visuals, and incisive dialogue make it stand out.

It’s no "Past Lives" by any stretch, but neither does it ever try to be. Frankly, as a general rule of thumb, I much prefer a flawed sophomore film that promises a versatile director than a great one that’s just more of the same.

The first half is successfully captures both social realities and individual helplessness, yet the second half takes a sudden nosedive into all sorts of mutual understanding and selflessness between the two leads, and an unearned happy ending. The tonal shift is jarring and robs the story of dramatic tension. In today’s world, where material abundance and temptation abound, marriage is hardly a necessity.

I wouldn’t call it a bad film, but it left me disappointed precisely because it ended exactly as I had predicted. I especially disliked that the heroine was forced to choose between two men when it’s obvious she had other options. It’s frustrating to see her settle for one despite knowing neither relationship was truly satisfying, all out of fear of being alone.

En la historia conocemos a Lucy, una casamentera en New York que, a pesar de su éxito en el oficio, nunca ha tenido suerte en el amor; al tiempo que se cuestiona si es que dicho sentimiento debe ir de la mano con el compromiso o si quizá no es más que una transacción.

“¿Para qué se casa la gente? ¿Por qué la sociedad mantiene una esperanza en el compromiso? ¿Será que en la actualidad, el casarte puede ser simplemente una oportunidad para demostrar que las nuevas generaciones son mejores que las anteriores? Si soy una mujer moderna, ¿por qué quiero casarme?” Son algunas de las preguntas que plantea la protagonista de esta historia, mismas que nos invitan a reflexionar.




Esta reflexión llegó a mi mente en los primeros minutos de Amores Materialistas, el nuevo filme protagonizado por Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal y Chris Evans


“Amar es fácil y es por ello que nos da tanto miedo”
Y es que resulta que esta historia no busca cuestionar al amor, sino todo lo contrario, pues como bien lo menciona la protagonista, “amar es fácil y es por ello quizá que nos da tanto miedo, pues una vez que lo experimentamos, no podemos evitarlo”, sin embargo, sostiene la idea de que dicho sentimiento no siempre debe ir más allá. El amor no obedece a la razón, sino a la emoción, pero ello no necesariamente implica un compromiso ni un “felices para siempre”, simplemente abre la puerta a la oportunidad de sentirlo todo.

Asimismo, esta historia plantea y cuestiona el valor que le damos al físico y a todas esas características que buscamos en el otro, como si se tratara de un check list que tuvieran que completar para nosotros. Y aunque en parte resulta válido, pues al final hablamos de gustos propios y del deseo de encontrar a la pareja perfecta para nosotros, sin embargo, no debemos dejar de lado que el aspecto físico, económico, material o más, no hace más o menos especial a nadie. Y si de amor se trata, todo ello queda de lado cuando nos enamoramos.

The film paints the rich man as flawless and the poor man as utterly unremarkable. So how are we expected to believe that a refined woman, now exposed to elite circles, would give it all up for a frugal man and then quit her job too? Romance among the underprivileged can be touching, even poetic—but this film isn’t romantic. It just insults the intelligence of its female lead.

Many seem puzzled by the protagonist’s choice, but it’s actually quite simple. In a city as materialistic as New York, a woman earning a solid income has every right to choose someone she genuinely likes and pursue a job that brings her joy. Her happiness stems from self-worth, not the approval of a rich suitor. She believes she can be happy either way—and that belief is empowering.

To marry for love, or for money? Celine Song, director of the amazing PAST LIVES, has now made another amazing movie about love and romance called MATERIALISTS. On the surface, this looks like your typical romcom love triangle movie, but if you know Song, you’d know this goes a lot deeper than that. Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a very good matchmaker who sees love as a set of boxes that need to be checked off. Her own love-life gets heated when she meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), a man who checks off all the right boxes. Things get complicated when her ex John (Chris Evans) comes back into her life. To be fair, that does sound like a 00s fluffy romcom. I would call this movie a romance dramedy. It evolves into a character study of a sort, having them feel real, rational, and emotionally mature, not vilifying anybody to create conflict. Lucy has an especially good character arc. It has brutally honest depictions of dating in today’s society. It has some great and cutting satire about modern dating and how most people these days have ridiculous or unrealistic boxes that need to be checked. I have no doubt that this movie has both Johnson’s and Evans’ career best performances. The onscreen chemistry is fantastic with each of them. I find it funny how the actors who play Captain America, Mr. Fantastic, and Madame Web are all in this movie. There’s a joke somewhere in there. Song directs with patience, focusing on what the characters are saying, muffling whatever background noises there are. It shines a light on how transactional modern relationships have become. Math or data doesn’t determine who you love. Also, loving the idea of a person is a lot different than loving a person. I recently learned what a bookend is when it comes to film. It’s when the beginning and the end of a movie have a similar scene or idea. This movie has a great bookend. It has a cynical view of the world, yet it’s still hopeful. It doesn’t have the same kind of emotional gut-punch that PAST LIVES had, but MATERIALISTS is still amazing work from an amazing writer/director, Celine Song. I hope she gets another nomination for Best Original Screenplay next year.

La razón de las dos estrellas es porque tiene un buen elenco. El guion es malo, no tiene nada de profundo, nada nuevo. Una historia que no puede mantenernos atentos a no ser por los actores, definitivamente aburrida para la promoción que tuvo este film. Básica. Sinceramente esperaba más.

Cris Evans ufff

Esta película me llevo a reflexionar y determinar, que en la vida,uno debe amarse así mismo para proporcionar amor verdadero y no permitir que el amor falso no arrastre por intereses materiales.

Lucy es una ambiciosa casamentera neoyorquina que ha construido su vida alrededor de una regla inquebrantable: el amor es un acuerdo racional, no un impulso. Su éxito profesional se basa en fórmulas y compatibilidades medibles, hasta que el regreso inesperado de John, su exnovio y antiguo ideal romántico, sacude el equilibrio que tanto ha protegido.

Mientras Lucy intenta mantener su imagen de mujer segura y moderna, su mundo se tambalea entre la lógica y el deseo. Lo que comienza como un reencuentro incómodo se transforma en una reflexión sobre cuánto influyen las emociones, los recuerdos y las expectativas en la manera de amar.

Amores materialistas combina humor, romance y sutileza emocional en una historia sobre cómo el éxito y el corazón rara vez caminan en la misma dirección.