Celine Song changes everything with “Materialists”… but why is this film already creating a buzz?
What if the queen of romantic drama were to return where she was least expected? After Past Lives, Celine Song surprises us with a sentimental comedy featuring an explosive cast. We tell you all about Materialists, the film that could well reinvent the genre.
A bold change of tone
Celine Song shocked the critics with Past Lives, a subtle, poetic portrait of impossible love. The specialized press praised her ability to film the unspoken with a rare acuity, imposing her style between modesty and depth. In 2025, however, she returns with a romantic comedy, Materialists. An unexpected change of tone, but a promising one.
For this will be no formatted bluette. Those who have seen Past Lives know that the director never writes at face value. By tackling a sometimes reviled genre, she may well turn it inside out, injecting a modern reading on love, money, social status and desire.
Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans, Dakota Johnson: high-voltage casting
It’s hard to ignore the FOMO effect provoked by this cast: Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans and Dakota Johnson share the bill in ambiguous and potentially explosive roles.
Pedro Pascal, accustomed to charismatic, complex roles, plays a character who is probably more vulnerable than he appears. Chris Evans, on the other hand, plays a broke, disillusioned man still in love with his ex. As for Dakota Johnson, she seems to play a central role here, torn between two masculine figures who are at odds with each other: comfort and fire, stability and memory. Who will she choose? The narrative tension rests largely on this uncertainty.
An intriguing title: what does Materialists really mean?
The title is not insignificant. Materialists suggests a reflection on the value of things and beings, on love contaminated by social success, or perhaps even on the contradictions of our consumerist age.
Celine Song doesn’t like messages that are too obvious. Expect a nuanced treatment, where dialogues and silences count as much as romantic scenes. A choice of title that heralds a critical, elegant and possibly melancholy work.
A contemporary feminine vision
What makes this project particularly captivating is Celine Song‘s position as writer-director. She belongs to that generation of women who are redefining the romance genre by infusing it with realism, dark humor and social ambiguity. Song’s Korean-Canadian perspective adds a layer of universalism and singularity.
At a time when sentimental comedies are looking for a revival(Emily in Paris, Anyone But You), Materialists could well become the intelligent, stylish comedy that cinema has been waiting for.
Should we be interested?
Yes, absolutely. Materialists ticks all the boxes of an event film: an acclaimed filmmaker, a triple-A cast, a revisited genre, a contemporary subject. But above all, it promises to be a film that will be talked about, that may divide, but that will not leave anyone indifferent.
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