The most intelligent and endearing deconstruction of human relationships in recent memory, Celine Song’s Materialists is a major win for the rom-com genre. But, let’s be clear: this isn’t your typical rom-com, and that’s exactly what makes it so refreshing. While there are flashes of humor, Materialists is far more contemplative and emotionally grounded than the fluffy love stories Hollywood usually churns out. The premise sounds familiar - a single matchmaker in New York torn between a seemingly perfect new prospect and a magnetic old flame - but writer-director Celine Song flips the formula on its head with sharp realism and a sleek, sexy directorial eye. You believe in these characters, in their decisions, indecisions, desires, and contradictions. Nothing feels forced or overly manufactured. Dakota Johnson also delivers one of her most nuanced performances yet. Her cool, detached delivery works in her favor here - there’s a quiet ache behind the composure, a sense that she’s avoiding some deeper truth. Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal, rounding out the love triangle, both fully rise to the occasion, giving textured, grounded performances that, again, avoid caricature. A pivotal moment in the film’s midpoint adds unexpected emotional weight. And, by the end, Materialists doesn’t just ask what it means to “find the one” — it questions whether that concept was ever real to begin with. Like the matchmaker at its center, Materialists also checks a lot of boxes.