Dakota Johnson and director Celine Song rethink the rom-com with 'Materialists'

The caller movie “Materialists” is thing of a bargain: fundamentally 2 films successful one. It’s precise overmuch a sparkling romanticist drama successful which a young pistillate finds herself torn betwixt a affluent antheral who tin connection her a beingness of comfortableness and easiness versus different overmuch poorer antheral who nevertheless understands the deepest, truest parts of her interior self.

It is besides filled with long, thoughtful conversations connected the precise quality of wherefore emotion and relationships substance truthful much, the parts they play successful people’s lives and effects connected an individual’s consciousness of identity. The movie is some a happening and spends a batch of clip considering the quality of that precise thing, astir an effort astir itself. And it does truthful with a stylish, romanticist sophistication and ease.

Written and directed by playwright turned filmmaker Celine Song, “Materialists” (in theaters June 13) is the follow-up to the wistfully melancholic “Past Lives,” her 2023 diagnostic debut that was nominated for champion representation and archetypal screenplay Oscars. The caller movie is successful speech with classical rom-coms by the likes of Nora Ephron, James L. Brooks and Billy Wilder, portion besides grappling with of-the-moment concerns specified arsenic ambition and achievement.

“We’re not conscionable showing up present to beryllium successful emotion and beauteous and get to beryllium successful a rom-com,” says Song. “We’re besides going to instrumentality this accidental to speech astir something. Because that’s the powerfulness of the genre. Our favourite rom-coms are the ones wherever we get to commencement a speech astir something.”

Song, 36, is sipping beverage astatine a sunny country array successful the edifice of a West Hollywood edifice on alongside the film’s star, Dakota Johnson. In the movie Johnson plays Lucy, who works arsenic a nonrecreational matchmaker successful New York City, helping affluent clients fulfill their intolerable criteria of looks, physique, occupation, education, income, background, manner and thing other that mightiness interaction a prospective partner’s worth successful the marketplace of eligible singles.

When Lucy meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), a tall, handsome and precise affluent backstage equity manager, she initially tries to wrangle him arsenic a imaginable lucifer for immoderate of the galore pistillate clients who would privation him. But helium plans to prosecute Lucy alternatively crossed a bid of impressively costly dinners. Meanwhile, Lucy has besides reconnected with John (Chris Evans), a erstwhile fellow who is inactive a struggling histrion making ends conscionable arsenic a cater waiter years aft they broke up. Lucy finds herself torn betwixt the cynicism and mathematical practicality her occupation has hardened successful her and a yearning romanticism she wishes she could beryllium unfastened to.

Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal successful the movie “Materialists.”

(Atsushi Nishijima / A24)

Depending connected however 1 finds the erotic absurdities of the young-woman-in-the-big-city storylines of the “Fifty Shades” films that rocketed her to stardom, Johnson has seldom done a accepted rom-com (there’s lone 2016’s “How to Be Single”). Which is not to accidental she hasn’t been offered specified vehicles. She’s conscionable declined to beryllium successful them.

“They’re not good,” Johnson, 35, says, chuckling lightly astatine her ain bluntness. “Sorry.”

“I deliberation a batch of what I work these days is void of psyche and heart,” she continues. “And Celine is each psyche and heart. I truly emotion a rom-com if it feels similar I tin link to the radical successful it. And I deliberation I’ve recovered it hard to link to the radical successful immoderate of the ones that I’ve been offered.”

What made “Materialists” consciousness antithetic for her?

“The complexities of each of the characters,” Johnson answers. “The paradox. Everyone being confused astir what the f— they’re expected to bash with their hearts. And what’s the close move? I recovered that precise honorable and I recovered it conscionable truthful relatable.”

Johnson, who is successful a narration with instrumentalist Chris Martin, continues, “For a agelong clip we’ve each been truthful speedy to justice relationships oregon however they should happen, however they should beryllium successful the world. When radical should get married. Divorce is bad. All these things that actually, if you deliberation astir it, wherefore is divorcement bad? Why bash radical person to get joined oregon astatine a definite property oregon lone once? Why? It doesn’t matter.”

First thoughts for the task began astir 10 years ago, erstwhile Song worked for a nonrecreational matchmaking work for astir six months. It’s precise overmuch a client-facing job, and she recovered the interactions she had with radical to beryllium bracing successful their candor and vulnerability, arsenic good arsenic the ways successful which the enactment demanded absorption of people’s feelings of desirability oregon lovability — arsenic good arsenic rejection oregon worthlessness.

“To a matchmaker, everybody’s precise honorable astir what they’re looking for,” says Song, herself joined to “Challengers” and “Queer” screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes. “Even astatine that time, I ever thought, I conscionable cognize I’m going to constitute thing astir it.”

Dakota Johnson successful the movie “Materialists.”

(A24)

Ever since the film’s archetypal trailer dropped, radical online person commented connected an antithetic portion bid placed by Lucy. More specifically, a portion that is placed successful beforehand of her earlier she truly adjacent has a accidental to bid it, by idiosyncratic who already knows that her preferred beverage was once, indeed, Coke and beer, with abstraction near successful a solid to determination the 2 together.

“To maine what was important is that this was a portion that is truthful unusual that you can’t guess,” explains Song. “And that lone idiosyncratic who knows you precise well, who knew you successful college, who knew you erstwhile you were truly conscionable astatine your bosom your axenic self, [knows] your portion order. So each I did was I Googled ‘weird drinks.’”

Though the portion is seemingly fashionable successful Germany, arsenic for however it really tastes, Johnson notes, “It’s conscionable precise effervescent and benignant of gross. Not for me.”

Song and Johnson person formed an evident enslaved successful the clip spent moving together. (They met during a play erstwhile the attraction astir “Past Lives” meant that Song could get wide meetings, not adjacent for a circumstantial project, with galore apical stars.) They some notation however by the clip they were shooting, Song could often pass ideas to Johnson with conscionable a look oregon a motion alternatively than an progressive explanation.

“She’d travel successful and beryllium like, ‘Um ...’ and I’d beryllium like, ‘Yes,’” says Johnson.

“I deliberation a batch of what I work these days is void of psyche and heart,” says Johnson. “And Celine is each psyche and heart.” Song, left, and Johnson, photographed astatine the London Hotel successful West Hollywood successful May.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Johnson successful peculiar has the unbothered savvy of idiosyncratic who has spent their full beingness successful immoderate proximity to the spotlight (her parents are actors Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson) and has present been steadily moving since appearing successful “The Social Network” successful 2010. In conversation, Johnson and Song stock a casual, relaxed vigor betwixt them. Yet astatine the specified notation of “Madame Web,” the 2024 Marvel adaptation starring Johnson that was a box-office weaponry and taxable of aggravated media scrutiny, Johnson’s eyes constrictive and her posture tightens.

“Go on,” Johnson says with a feigned seriousness.

Will Johnson present instrumentality to indie films astatine the standard of “Materialists” oregon the projects produced by her institution TeaTime Pictures, specified arsenic 2023’s “Daddio” oregon the upcoming “Splitsville,” which precocious premiered astatine the Cannes Film Festival?

“It wasn’t my fault,” Johnson says, laughing somewhat portion maintaining her focus.

“There’s this happening that happens present wherever a batch of originative decisions are made by committee. Or made by radical who don’t person a originative bony successful their body. And it’s truly hard to marque creation that way. Or to marque thing entertaining that way. And I deliberation unluckily with ‘Madame Web,’ it started retired arsenic thing and turned into thing else. And I was conscionable benignant of on for the thrust astatine that point. But that happens. Bigger-budget movies neglect each the time.

“I don’t person a Band-Aid implicit it,” she adds. “There’s nary portion of maine that’s like, ‘Oh, I’ll ne'er bash that again’ to anything. I’ve done adjacent tiny movies that didn’t bash well. Who cares?”

Having present been an progressive shaper connected a fig of projects — including 1 to beryllium directed by 93-year-old drama fable Elaine May that Johnson says she hopes could beryllium shooting successful the autumn — has made it antithetic for her when, connected a movie similar “Materialists,” she is an histrion only.

“I deliberation that sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh, I cognize however to hole it,’ oregon I cognize what to do, I privation to help,” says Johnson. “And there’s immoderate things wherever I person to conscionable not accidental things. Sometimes I emotion conscionable showing up, particularly connected our movie, it was conscionable truthful overmuch amusive for maine to lone beryllium acting. Because I was successful truthful overmuch of it, I felt similar I was successful specified bully hands, I could conscionable unbend into that role.”

The movie uses a fable-like framing communicative astir 2 prehistoric cave dwellers who whitethorn precise good beryllium the archetypal joined couple. (They besides popular up for sharp-eyed viewers successful different country arsenic well.)

“To me, the full movie is successful those pieces,” says Song. “Because each of what we are surviving done is besides going to beryllium past too. We cognize that definite chromatic tools were passed implicit to the other, but we bash not cognize astir the flowers that were exchanged. Because determination are immoderate things similar sentiment and feeling and emotion that are intangible and ephemeral. There’s a precise existent and tangible and worldly grounds of chromatic tools and things being traded. But what passed betwixt them successful their bosom is not. It’s not connected record.”

Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans successful the movie “Materialists.”

(A24)

Leaping guardant successful clip to picture modern worries and desires, “Materialists” attempts to seizure the specifics of a taste moment, calculating cost-benefit investigation against a perceived ticking timepiece portion besides often dodging abusive predators.

“In contiguous time, the dating satellite due to the fact that of societal media is truthful antithetic — everything is aspirational,” says Johnson. “You privation to unrecorded the beingness that each these different radical person connected your phone, reasoning that that’s what you’re expected to beryllium doing. It looks good, but it’s not authentic due to the fact that it’s manufactured, it’s filtered, it’s ridiculous. So everything that a pistillate oregon a antheral is looking for successful a partner, erstwhile they get to a definite age, whenever that is, it’s each worldly things. It’s height, it’s income, it’s hair, body, physique. It’s things that person thing to bash with a psyche connection.”

Unafraid to grapple with pugnacious conversations and moments of interior crisis, “Materialists” exudes a chic glamour arsenic it interrogates the pugnacious choices, motivations and consequences of modern romance.

At 1 constituent successful the film, Lucy and Harry spell to spot John execute successful a way-off-Broadway accumulation of Song’s play “Tom & Eliza.” (Song’s sanction appears onscreen connected a poster.) At drinks after, John says thing dismissive astir Lucy’s enactment arsenic a matchmaker and she sarcastically retorts that it’s conscionable “girl s—.” This enactment was Song’s ain purposeful rebuke of the dismissive attitudes toward penning astir love.

“I truthful often acquisition a wide sentiment that emotion arsenic a taxable of speech and survey is dismissable arsenic unserious, unimportant, ‘lighter fare,’ ‘girl s—,’” writes Song successful a follow-up email. “People telephone romanticist films ‘chick flicks’ arsenic a mode to diminish them, which I find unspeakably sad, not conscionable for the mode it excludes ‘chicks’ from the realm of ‘serious people,’ but besides for the mode it excludes ‘serious people’ from the realm of romance and love.

“That enactment of Lucy’s is intended to beryllium a crisp reproach of that dismissal,” adds Song. “I judge that emotion is the top enigma successful everyone’s lives, and truthful it is 1 of the astir important themes successful cinema. Love is the 1 play we each experience, and it deserves the utmost respect.”