David Farnor | On 15, Feb 2026

Director: Celine Song
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans
Certificate: 15

“Marriage is a business deal. And it always has been, since the very first time two people did it.” That’s the opinion of Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a professional matchmaker who works in New York’s high-end dating scene. And she’s very good at brokering deals. It’s a surprising thing to hear in a film from Celine Song, who previously gave us the profound and moving Past Lives – but there’s just as much depth to be found in this slick world of superficial appearances.

Lucy has long been the one who helps other people find love – and her approach is as successful as it is transactional. Finding jobs, pay checks and personalities that will complement each other, she sees a numbers game where happiness is the byproduct. But her worldview is challenged and upended when she becomes the target of someone else’s affections: Harry (Pedro Pascal), her latest client. She meets him at the wedding of his brother – a former client – where the person serving their drinks just so happens to be John (Chris Evans), her ex-boyfriend who’s still chasing dreams of being an actor, which means he has always been, and continues to be, broke.

Lucy and John, we discover, broke up because of that shortfall between his earnings and her desire for a comfortable life – or, perhaps more specifically, the fact that said shortfall was an issue for her. At the same time, Harry wants Lucy because he sees her as a worthwhile investment – and can treat her to the impossible things she wants, even though he has nothing interesting to say over dinner.

And it’s in those kind of nuances that Song’s script sparks surprisingly to life. The writing is scathingly cynical, from the algebra equations that calculate ROI in Lucy’s job and the vows she and John imagine for a newly wedded couple to the advice Lucy gives to people who are paying customers rather than genuine friends. A date gone awry shakes Lucy’s beliefs in what she does, and what begins as a commentary on the modern dating scene evolves into a thoughtful exploration from all sides of the business table – there isn’t the neatness of a Richard Curtis romance here, despite the marketing campaign that positions it as a sparky comedy, and it’s in the messy, spiky reality that Song’s script with a bite quietly sinks its teeth in.

Early on, we hear Lucy convince someone to get married because their partner makes them feel worth something – and Materialists hollows out that search for shallow self-esteem as a misunderstanding of what marriage as a commitment and investment means, a distortion over the centuries that results in people viewing themselves as merchandise rather than as fully rounded indviduals.

The cast are all game for that balance of bright wit and sobering truths, with Pedro Pascal superbly finding the poignant threads of self-awareness inside his finance bro and Chris Evans bringing an endearing vulnerability to his hangdog, sometimes annoying loser. It’s Dakota Johnson who holds it all together, though, with a naturalistic style that makes her earnest and convincing, whether she’s selling a new product line or talking about her own feelings. The result is a playful, moving dissection of dating and relationships in a society that’s superficial, as opposed to a society where relationships are superficial. Dig beneath that surface and there’s a welcome depth to be found – and maybe, just maybe, a bit of hope too.

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