Materialists
Guess who just came out of a Celine Song film that has caused her to float midair in a spiral that has soft longing and razor sharp clarity?
This is her second feature, Materialists, and the way it has struck a chord in me. Oh man. Let me tell you that after watching Past Lives, I had already made a quiet promise to myself: Whenever this mastermind releases a film, I will be there opening weekend, these are the rules now. Keeping that promise led to a reward so amazing.
Isn’t it wonderfully wild when women know how to tell women’s stories? They do it in ways that feel like they aren’t just speaking ‘to’ us but ‘for’ us. How brilliantly they make space for silence, for aching glances and for the choices that don’t scream but still echo.
Materialists isn’t just about romance. It tells a tale about why we love, how we choose and who we think we have to be to deserve love. Is love still love if it’s also a transaction? Can desire make it through if inside a spreadsheet of shared goals and futures that are calculated? Have we forgotten how to feel, in our rush to ‘secure the bag’?
One thing about Celine Song is that you won’t find her lecturing. She instead invites. Her writing once again is the center of the Venn diagram where vulnerability and wisdom meet. It makes you feel seen and undone all at once.
Dakota Johnson as Lucy is no less than magnetic softness.. the kind that doesn’t need shouting to be heard. Silk brushing against a bruise is what I’ll call her performance, gentle but oh it still hurts. That voice, those pauses, that stillness. She knows what she’s doing and she’s magnificent at it.
Pedro Pascal? Let’s just say this man has been born to seduce the ladies with kindness. That’s the very reason he’s adored. Celine knew how to use that warmth, that tease and that unshakeable charm is at the very best in this film.
On to Chris Evans now. The man has layers. In Materialists, he peeled back a version of himself that made me understand that sometimes, all it takes is a director who gets it to crack open your most unexpected brilliance. (Ugh do more serious roles from now on, no more Captain America. Pls.)
Now let’s try to look past the immaculate face cards, aesthetics and impeccable dialogues..Materialists is a meditation. It felt like a quiet storm, a love letter to romance as a universal force and not just a ‘women’s genre.’
In a world obsessed with productivity, as we optimise every aspect of our lives, when did we start treating love like an optional luxury? Why are we so afraid to choose what comes easy, feel natural and invoke joy?
Materialists will give you a subtle go ahead to remember what love is actually about. To shed the performative grind and let softness, honesty and your instincts guide you again.
Yeah, films from 2025 are making me feel like cinema is alive again. Celine Song is the high priestess of modern romanticism we need right now.
So, run. Don’t walk. Let yourself feel again.