Celine Song crafted a good film with Materialists (2025), which I’m unsure whether to categorize as a rom-com or a horror movie. Or better yet, a combination.
The script is fiendishly clever, which proved to be catnip to a very dedicated cast. When I say dedicated, I mean that the lead actors—Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal—are dedicated to generating a vast distance from the usual tropes of characters they play and the public personas that envelope them.
This is an apt vehicle to show a range of their acting chops: from calculated coldness (Johnson), rakish fragility (Pascal), to (my pick for the biggest surprise of the lot) utter vulnerability (Evans).
The movie follows a modern-day matchmaker (Johnson) as she navigates depravity and desperation, buoyed by enthusiasm in a gritty and cynical New York City. But the undergirding notion of this movie is the fundamental materiality of partnership. The word “romance” is not bandied about here, but pairing up is ultimately transactional. Everything is reduced to mathematics for the wizened matchmaker.
The script is hilarious and whip-smart, which should make the more discerning viewer do a double-take and think, “Wait, did she say that?” Matchmaking as a business has been in existence since the dawn of history, with records dating back to ancient times. This is perhaps the point of “materiality”: not the focus on material goods, but the tangible connection throughout human history regarding partnerships.
Pinoys will not like this movie despite the familiar faces. Most of the movie hinges on this cruel arithmetic—that kilig is not the point. It is not chemistry and magical happenstance, but resource access and allocation that are the point of investing to arrive at shared affections. This is why I asked if this were a horror film, because the emotional payoff comes at such a dizzying emotional shakedown from cynical truths—but truths nonetheless.
Some scenes are stylistically reminiscent of When Harry Met Sally (1989, directed by Rob Reiner, which many deem the ultimate rom-com movie), particularly when characters look directly at the camera to reveal their secrets to a successful relationship. However, in Materialists, when people look directly at the camera—and, in turn, the viewers—they discuss what they want from a partner. It is as if a human being can be assembled at will for them, provided one is willing to pay for it.
This is the insidious point of Materialists: money. Or better yet, the energy money brings—or its absence brings—which is value. People are reduced to products with unique selling propositions. What can you bring to the table? Please take note of the words in this excellent script, such as a difficult-to-pair client being somebody with “no specialty appeal.”
Although I have mainly discussed the cruel aspects of math, Materialists offers a point of view on mathematics, which is the recognition of patterns, thus mitigating risks and failures. But that is the thing with love, right? It is never a comfortable equation. It is always friction.
You may reach Chong Ardivilla at kartunistatonto@gmail.com or chonggo.bsky.social
