What Materialists Did Right

Conversations about interpersonal violence and spoilers for Materialists below

Advertised as a romcom but presented as a romantic drama delving into class struggle by exploring wealthy match-making services and one of the least common plastic surgeries, leg-lengthening… what was Materialist doing? This film has beautiful cinematography that evokes emotion from the viewer, often uncomfortable and detached, which felt representative of some of the relationships in the film. This film missed an opportunity to cast an actor who was 5’ 6-8” for Dakota Johnson to end up with. It felt like an odd directing and casting choice to spend over 90 minutes mentioning men’s height as a dating dealbreaker, then have 6’ 0” Chris Evans as the final relationship-- you do not have to be rich, but yes, you still have to be tall to end up happy. 

Besides the lack of chemistry and odd storyline choices (like the hyper fixation on height), there was one storyline that made the entire movie worth it for me, Sophie L. We are introduced to Sophie L after she had another date that did not work out. Lucy M, the matchmaker, later divulges to a colleague that Sophie L is amazing but just too average in everything to secure a relationship. Lucy M continues to throw different people at Sophie despite Sophie’s reservations. Enter Mark P. 

Mark P is well-rounded on paper. Mark P is the first person who may have been interested in a second date with Sophie L. Mark P is a predator. This film takes a turn when it is revealed that Sophie was assaulted on her date with Mark and is suing the company. Lucy is aghast, unable to accept the reality of what has happened, while her boss lets her in on the industry secret that this happens somewhat regularly (at least to the degree that every matchmaker has or will have a client get assaulted). We see Lucy M rush to the bathroom and realize that you cannot just make a bullet point list about someone and know who they are. This is world-changing for Lucy. 

Many have critiqued this character development for Lucy. Aisha Harris writes for NPR that Sophie’s story is “oddly cynical” and that Lucy only admits that she can love someone who does not check all of her boxes (like ultra wealthy) because “she doesn't want to end up like Sophie, on the cusp of 40 and still out there in the bleak dating scene.” This is where I saw something different in the film. Not assault as a plot point, but trauma and secondary survivorship as real parts of dating in a society that has normalized harassment and assault. In the US, we have allowed people accused and convicted of both harassment and sexual assault to access some of the highest positions of power in this country. 

Lucy did not choose John because she was “scared straight” by Sophie or to avoid the “bleak dating scene.” I think Lucy chose John because someone’s character is not represented in their height, their wealth, their job, or any other label Lucy’s job looked for. Character is represented in actions. John supported Lucy despite having his heart broken. John noticed when Lucy was struggling, even if she was presenting like everything was fine. John loved Lucy even after years of being apart and having different lives. I know someone may be asking themselves, “What about Harry? He was nice? Isn’t that proof of good character?” You are not wrong. Harry was not bad at all. Harry seemed to like the idea of Lucy joining his world, not Lucy. This was revealed in little moments like when they talked about fighting in the street vs in private, or when Lucy was struggling with the ethics of her job, and Harry never noticed. To be clear, do I think John and Lucy are perfect or even perfectly written? Absolutely not. I do think romantic films and stories need a taste of reality, especially in a world where some of the most popular romantic books and movies depict abuse as a love story and not as the violence that it is. This is not the romcom that many ads promised, yet as the romantic drama that it actually is, I think it would be a complete disservice to survivors of interpersonal violence not to include that as part of the story. Celine Song gives the viewers a taste of how normalized violence is in dating, from sharing Sophie’s story to showing clients requesting 20+ year age gaps or others “suggesting” ethnic dating preferences and more. Song also included some of these points with her viewers in mind: we did not have to witness a graphic assault to understand the pain, trauma, and violence that is normalized in the US dating and relationship culture. Mark P was great on paper. Mark P was even charismatic over the phone. Mark P is still a predator. This third point is what many people in real life forget, which allows us to continue to support abusers. Even now, as I type this, people are raving about a new film whose lead has been accused of physically and emotionally abusing a former partner as well as his kids. 

Materialists created by Celine Song Cast References 

Dakota Johnson as Lucy M 

Zoë Winters as Sophie

Chris Evans as John 

Pedro Pascal as Harry