Materialists (15)

Materialists

Sick of Hinge, Bumble, or Tinder? Then maybe try Materialists. It’s not a dating app but it is one of the slickest, sharpest looks at modern matchmaking you’ll ever see.

We’re in Manhattan where Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a matchmaker, arranging dates and introductions for professionals who want to get married. Yet her own permanently-on-ice romantic life is thrown into turmoil at one of her organised weddings. First, she meets financier Harry (Pedro Pascal), brother to the groom. He’s every woman’s dream: tall, dark, handsome, and of course, filthy rich. But then, by chance, she runs into her ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans), a cater-waiter still acting in off-off Broadway shows, hoping to kickstart his so-far faltering career.

Who will she pick? The poor ex or the rich newbie? Needless to say, the course of true love does not run smooth, especially when Harry continues to relentlessly pursue Lucy.

Celine Song crafts a film that, on the surface, looks like another fluffy rom-com that’ll go down well with a bottle of Chardonnay, is in fact a much deeper critique on love, connection, and commitment; not exactly a surprise coming from the director of the masterful Past Lives.