Critic Reviews

Moving on from its cynical beginning, Materialists takes the long way around to an ending that is decidedly hopeful. It offers an unblinkered, earned romanticism that suits this moment, and bolsters Song's reputation as one of our most astute observers of relationships.

Materialists is fun and satisfying and, thanks its wonderful cast, full of tender sweetness.

From a distance, Materialists seems like a straightforward love-triangle rom com, but Celine Song transforms it into a meaningful, introspective drama about self-worth.

Song has a particular knack for telling stories that break down the walls around our hearts and leave us aching in the best way possible.

There's a bit of quiet courageousness to the movie in its commitment to depth over trying to nakedly appeal to others, and that's a quality which makes any person — and any film — more desirable. So, I'll follow the film's bravery by admitting, right here and now, that I'm in love with it.

Playwright turned filmmaker Celine Song’s assured second feature is a refreshingly complex look at modern love, self-worth and the challenges of finding a partner in an unaffordable city, which once again treats three points of a romantic triangle with equal integrity and compassion.

What Song has done is make an excellent version of those types of romance films from yesteryear, yet one where these characters have depth, layers, and are more considered than we might have received in those films.

Materialists has received the odd puzzled review in its home territory, but it has the welcome oddness of a future classic.

If you’re seeing it with hopes of glittery escapism, based on its A-list stars and a trailer that prominently features a cover of Madonna’s “Material Girl,” be prepared that the result is a little sadder, a little more substantial. And that’s much of what’s so wonderful about it.

I do heartily recommend you see Materialists, and that you see it for what it is, not what it kinda looks like from the outside, as pitched to you by the very sort of romance-commodification salespersons that Celine Song’s movie criticizes.