At a definite constituent successful Celine Song‘s sophomore characteristic “Materialists,” her follow-up to her much-loved “Past Lives,” I started to fixate connected thing a small strange: nan Manhattan agency successful which our lead Lucy (Dakota Johnson) spends her days trying to put enduring romanticist matches amongst nan NYC elite. At first glance, nan crowded and colorful agency seems luxe; it’s lined pinch desks and filled pinch eager matchmakers for illustration Lucy, bubbling pinch feminine power and joy. When a lucifer goes really good — i.e. erstwhile nan mates gets engaged, nan ballyhooed happy ending of each romances, naturally — a barroom cart is rolled retired and each nan young matchmakers stitchery astir each different and cheer for their bully fortune, and for nan seeming occurrence of emotion itself. They’ve done it! Love wins! The fees they cod for their services don’t hurt, either.

Yet, nan much clip we walk successful Lucy’s office, nan cheaper, nan sadder, nan darker it looks. Those desks? They look arsenic if they will illness astatine immoderate minute, smushed into each different arsenic if we were astatine immoderate no-nonsense nail salon, nary room to breathe, nary abstraction to think. The barroom cart? It’s wobbly. When it each gets excessively much, moreover Lucy heads consecutive to nan occurrence flight to get immoderate air. It is, rather simply, not astatine each what it looks for illustration astatine first blush.

Neither is “Materialists.”

You’d beryllium forgiven for taking nan trading bait connected this 1 (even we did!), because while Song’s 2nd film whitethorn look, connected nan surface, for illustration a glossy rom-com throwback astir a beautiful female (Johnson) divided betwixt 2 handsome men (Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans) arsenic they vino and dine astir a sparkling Manhattan, “Materialists” is not a romanticist comedy. It’s not moreover a comedy, and your publication connected really romanticist it is will beryllium wholly fueled by really consenting you are to grapple pinch a taxable that rom-coms seldom broach: nan limits of what emotion tin do for someone.

Cynical, sad, progressively fucked up, and often gloriously mean, Song has turned nan genre wrong retired to show america really shallow these stories tin be. In short, ideate if nan decree that a movie centers connected “the emotion you could only find astatine nan movies” wasn’t a compliment, but a stern provocation. And while Song is not ever successful astatine this challenge, nan consequence is compelling, dark, and worthy of sizeable discussion.

‘Materialists’Courtesy Everett Collection

Did you really deliberation Celine Song, already 1 of our champion chroniclers of what emotion really is, would make a shiny small rom-com astir good, happy people? Please.

It opens, hilariously enough, pinch a vignette centered connected nan romanticist rituals of cavepeople. Even they, Song argues, engaged successful courtship activities, weighing nan merits of their paramours against nan needs of nan existent world. And erstwhile 2 of her cavepeople make it official, it’s not truthful overmuch a happy juncture arsenic nan inciting incident for respective millennia of bully (and bad) unions.

For Lucy, emotion is simply a transaction. Her clients are goods. The making love scene? It’s a market. No wonderment she’s been truthful successful astatine matchmaking (Johnson’s people cool reserve useful wonders for nan role), her activity steeped successful moving nan numbers and comparing pros and cons, assessing imaginable romance for illustration 1 mightiness see a business deal. Her various clients are not ever of nan aforesaid mind, however, and arsenic Song pushes Johnson done progressively awful, impersonal, and darkly funny meetings (women who only want gangly men, men who only want younger women, and worse), it’s easy to spot why Lucy has go truthful clinical.

A flashback, inspired by moving into her ex John (Evans, moving successful nan benignant of downbeat registry we haven’t seen from him successful years) astatine nan wedding of 2 of her clients, further illuminates things: John and Lucy first came to nan metropolis years ago, itching for success, and excessively mediocre to moreover spend not conscionable a afloat evening retired connected nan town, but nan parking fees for a azygous stint successful a parking garage. Sick to decease of being poor, Lucy ended things pinch John. Years later, their emotion for each different is still apparent, but truthful is nan financial disagreement betwixt them: John has yet to make it arsenic an character and is alternatively cater-waiting astatine nan wedding, Lucy is location arsenic a cherished guest.

Also connected connection astatine nan wedding: nan groom’s handsome relative Harry (an appealing Pascal), nan benignant of “unicorn” Lucy would emotion to hole up pinch immoderate of her very eager female clients. But Harry is taken pinch Lucy, moreover erstwhile she’s crystal clear: nan number 1 point she is looking for successful a imaginable hubby is that he’s rich. The number 2 point is that he’s rich. She is, aft all, a materialist. Fortunately, Harry is rich! And, arsenic we travel to learn, he’s besides very overmuch of nan aforesaid mind of Lucy astir what romance is. A transaction. A deal. A merger.

‘Materialists’A24

As Harry and Lucy swan astir nan metropolis connected progressively luxurious dates, John lingers astatine nan separator of Lucy’s mind. What if emotion really was astir love? Not money aliases information aliases incredibly bully penthouses (the first nighttime they walk together astatine Harry’s, Lucy appears to much revved up by nan swanky dispersed than Harry’s furious kisses)? Well, Lucy judge arsenic hellhole ain’t nan personification to interrogate that.

Until she is. As Lucy — analytic, cold, and wholly alert of her affectional deficiencies — attempts to juggle a astir unexpected soul war, thing happens that moreover she could not foretell aliases prevent. For each her planning, for each her precision, for each her “let’s return nan emotion retired of romance and get you married!” gusto, Lucy simply can’t power group and what they will do. That this horrific upheaval comes attraction of Lucy’s activity is nan existent kicker. If her trusted professional methods tin neglect truthful terribly, what does that opportunity astir nan measurement she conducts her personal life?

That destabilization is capable to push Lucy into caller spaces, some expected and not. Who will she choose? John, who mightiness not person a cookware to piss successful (and, moreover if he did, he’d person to stock it pinch his galore roommates), but sees Lucy arsenic she is and still wants to beryllium pinch her? Harry, who afloat understands really emotion should look and move, and only uses that arsenic a shield to his existent self? Talk astir bad options.

But while Song is eager to prosecute pinch these ideas — pinch nan very quality of emotion itself, nary mini feat — moreover “Materialists” can’t flight nan propulsion of wrapping things up successful a tidy front afloat of large reveals and bigger proclamations. Or is that each portion of a deeper trick, a wilder swing? Love itself whitethorn stay a mystery, but nan measurement “Materialists” feels astir it is not. Just don’t autumn for nan shiny package.

Grade: B

A24 will merchandise “Materialists” successful theaters connected Friday, June 13.

Want to enactment up to day connected IndieWire’s film reviews and captious thoughts? Subscribe here to our recently launched newsletter, In Review by David Ehrlich, successful which our Chief Film Critic and Head Reviews Editor rounds up nan champion caller reviews and streaming picks on pinch immoderate exclusive musings — all only disposable to subscribers.