Materialists: A Briskly Paced Film Leaving Us Wishing for a Newer Take (A Review from Tokyo）

While Celine Song’s latest film offers sharp pacing and a stellar cast, I found myself waiting for a fresher perspective from an A24 production.

★★★☆☆ (3.6 / 5.0 on Filmarks)

This is a romance film that revolves around the age-old, classic dilemma of “love versus money” — a debate as enduring as the perennial housing question of “renting versus buying.” As a piece of cinema, the pacing was brisk right from the start. The scene where the three main characters unexpectedly cross paths happens quite early on, ensuring that the narrative never feels boring or stagnant.

However, in an era where personal values and choices about who we live with — or whether we choose to live with anyone at all — have become so diverse, I expected something more innovative, especially with A24 behind the project. At one point, the film notes that the reason she broke up with John was due to the kind of poverty where couples fight over a mere $25, despite the presence of genuine love. I found myself thinking, “Okay, interesting… so where is the fresh take?” The characters discuss the reasons for marriage in terms of tradition or simply avoiding loneliness, which made me wonder: do so many people in modern America still place such an obsession on eventually sharing a grave with someone? To me, the mindsets of the four women in Sex and the City from a quarter-century ago still feel far more timeless and relevant than what was presented here.

That being said, the movie highlighted just how incredibly high the value of height remains in the criteria for a marriage partner. For men, undergoing surgery to become 15 centimeters taller is framed as a worthy investment that completely changes their world. Having been tall since my own childhood, I have often found it to be more of a hassle than a benefit, so this perspective was quite striking.

Dakota Johnson is as stunning as ever, with her great sense of style and that signature thick fringe that remains effortlessly cute. I truly hope she finds that one definitive, career-defining role sometime soon.