Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.
Materialists is a thoughtful romantic drama from Celine Song following her acclaimed Past Lives, but it doesn't quite reach those heights. The matchmaking premise offers an interesting lens on romantic idealism versus pragmatism, but the love triangle resolves somewhat predictably and the ending feels undercooked and ambivalent in a way that frustrates more than it intrigues. Acting is solid across the board with capable performances but nothing transformative. Cinematography is competent New York fare. The film carries Song's philosophical sensibility and adult romantic intelligence, giving it some distinctiveness, but it feels more like a lesser echo of Past Lives than a fully singular new vision.