Materialists: Celine Song's Overly-Familiar Sophomore Feature (Blu-ray)

The Film:

Just two years ago, Celine Song burst onto the scene with her directorial debut "Past Lives," which not only earned her massive critical acclaim, but also an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, among a multitude of other wins & nominations. For her second film, "Materialists," she turns her attention to romance once again, though of a slightly lighter variety, which naturally brings with it the concern that it could end up being just another dramatic rom-com like we've seen so many times before. Will Song be able to utilize her considerable talents to avoid the pitfalls that so many succumb to when it comes to this specific genre, or will it merely be yet another to throw on top of the pile of cliche-filled entries?

The film centers on Lucy Mason (Dakota Fanning), a matchmaker at Adore who has been very successful in her line of work. While attending a client's wedding, she meets the groom's brother, Harry (Pedro Pascal), a rich financier who takes an interest in her, though she doesn't immediately return it. Lucy also happens to run into her ex, John Finch (Chris Evans), a struggling actor who is working as a caterer for the wedding. While they catch up, John lets her know of a play he's about to star in, which she eventually tells him to invite her to as their evening comes to an end.

Meanwhile, Lucy starts seeing Harry regularly, cementing their relationship together, though she still questions his intentions and if they're right for each other. The couple even attend John's play together, which creates obvious heartache for her ex. Is Lucy's newfound relationship meant to be, or does fate perhaps have a different match in mind for her?

When it comes to films of this particular genre mix, the single biggest obstacle is going to be trying to bring something new to it so that it stands apart from the multitude of other films just like it. That is, the writer needs to make sure not to fall back on the standard cliches that we see time and time again, the ones that typically make these films so utterly predictable, dull, and forgettable, which is not to say that those cliches can't be used effectively every now and again, but rather that most of the time they just lead to a bland rehash that isn't worth the effort.

With "Materialists," it's unfortunate to have to say that Song does indeed use very formulaic writing to tell her tale. She changes up the details a bit, as writers often do to try and disguise the overly-familiar foundation, but it doesn't change the fact that you can tell where this story is going every step of the way, right up to its standard, feel-good ending. It's hardly a bad effort, with the trio of leads turning in fine performances, but it really just ends up feeling like another entry that merely seems to be going through the motions of one of these films, given its well-known set-up & execution.

Overall, it's a mildly-engaging film, but Song simply doesn't do nearly enough to make it stand out, putting it on a very predictable path that provides no surprises for the audience, and ultimately making it a rather forgettable experience. Again, it's certainly not a bad film, but it's one that we've seen far too many times before, merely leaving one with the hope that Song will use her great talents to pursue something far more original & emotionally-rich like her debut feature in the near future.

Video/Audio:

"Materialists" comes to Blu-ray in a 1.85:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of mostly decent quality. The picture appears somewhat dark throughout the 116-minute duration, but still remains sharp & clear enough to where it's not that big a problem. The Dolby Atmos audio track, on the other hand, is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue & music in excellent quality. Overall, while the picture needed a little work in regards to brightening, A24 has still given a mostly-solid effort in both areas for the film's Blu-ray debut.

Special Features:

Filmmaker Commentary with Writer-Director Celine Song

The Math of Modern Dating: Making Materialists (17 Minutes): A behind the scenes look at the making of the film, featuring interviews with the cast & crew.

Composer Deep Dive with Japanese Breakfast (11 Minutes): An interview with the film's composers, Michelle Zauner & Craig Hendrix.

Conclusion:

Celine Song's "Materialists" is a mildly-engaging & admirable attempt at putting together a dramatic rom-com, but sadly she just doesn't do nearly enough to make it stand out from the multitudes just like it, merely taking an overly-familiar situation and going down a very predictable path with it, which ultimately makes for a disappointing experience that's mostly forgettable.

Score: 3/5

Now available on Blu-ray.

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