Materialists Has The Most Infuriating Ending For A Romantic Film

This story contains spoilers for Materialists.

There's Jane Austen's Emma, a woman of means, meddling in other people's love lives, flitting between amusement and arrogance, utterly unaware that the person who sees her most clearly is already in her.

And then there's Celine Song's Materialists (that takes inspiration from Austen's works among others): the couture-coated, SoHo-slick, emotionally literate modern take on the idea of love and security. In the Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro-Pascal starrer film, where relationship is no longer about land or lineage, but optics, ambition, and curated compatibility.

Dakota Johsnon as Lucy in MaterialistsInstagram/Materialists

Our protagonist, Lucy (Johnson) makes her living as a matchmaker for the elites in New York City. She negotiates capital, class, and cultural cachet for her clients. And when it comes to her love life, she calculates, overanalyses, then sabotages those that don’t fit her definition of market assessment.

Celine Song swaps carriages for Uber Blacks, high society for high visibility, and the landed gentry for Real Estate Tech Bros. But the question ‘what does it mean to choose love in an age where love is always monetised?’ remains the core of the latest A24 production.

Unlike Austen's women who were either left with the choice to marry for love and security, (if you find both, you have a rare combination) Lucy is independent, ambitious, and perfectly capable of buying her own apartment. She doesn't need a man, which is precisely why her choice still matters. Also, the reason why her final decision upsets so many of us!

Perhaps in the alternate universe, Pedro Pascal isn't left heartbroken- he is a unicorn. A rare kind of man who openly admits he's been trying to fall in love and keeps failing, but is also rich, soulful and soft. Not so tall though. He is earnest and antidote to emotionally constipated rom-com boyfriend.

His way to woo Lucy is classic gentlemanly. But alas, Song has some other plans for Lucy. The matchmaker goes back to her ex, the person who reflects her reality, her risk and her growth. She picks Chris Evans character who is a struggling actor instead of the rich guy with a soft heart.

Lucy's choice feels wrong because we want love to be simple and straightforward, especially because there are a lot of numbers to deal with in modern tale. But Materialists isn't your typical film that nudges you with good feels and about choosing the best man. More importantly, it is about choosing the most honest life for yourself.

So, Harry who is seemingly perfect in every modern, Instagram-therapist-approved way -might still not be your person. Though Lucy breaks up with John (Evans) over money, ego, and miscommunication- all the unglamourous stuff- he mirrors the version of Lucy which she wants to reject for the glamourous, more ambitious side of her that Harry reflects.

Song makes a brilliant point through the film that's neither a fairytale nor a satire. Materialists tells us what we already know and still don't want to believe: love isn't a checklist; compatibility doesn't equal connection and vulnerability doesn't guarantee intimacy.

Chris Evans as John in MaterialistsInstagram/Materialists

Though John is imperfect, emotionally rougher, financially unstable- he challenges Lucy in the ways she feels seen and not managed. She makes the "wrong" choice on purpose- because love , for her, over the course of the film doesn't boil down only to security but involves surrender, more than material gain, it is about growth.

Yes, watching Pascal weep is a hard watch. He deserves better, but Materialists is about the math that stops mathing. It touches the rawest nerve in modern dating.