Materialists was billed as a love triangle romcom but it isn’t that. I’d say it’s a thoughtful look at dating, marriage, value, and love from the unique perspective of a matchmaker for the rich in New York City.

Materialists begins with a caveman taking his lady love a bouquet of flowers. Flowers feature often in this love story, and the caveman and woman reappear a couple of times as well. (Be sure to watch the credits.)

The film was written and directed by Celine Song. I appreciated everything about this film, from the concept of a matchmaker’s clear eyed appraisal of marriage, to the execution of the story and the character development.

Lucy (Dakota Johnson), the matchmaker, had a list of factors to consider in making a match. A list of check boxes. Age, income, fitness, height, intelligence. It was a numbers game in which certain people who met certain criteria were put together, often successfully.

When Lucy went to the wedding of one of her clients, she met the groom’s brother Harry (Pedro Pascal). He overheard her recruiting new clients at the wedding and sat by her at the singles table to introduce himself. They were having a good conversation when a waiter showed up with Lucy’s order before she’d even turned it in.

The waiter was John (Chris Evans), Lucy’s old boyfriend. He had a catering job because he couldn’t get work as an actor. He was too broke for Lucy and they had broken up years ago. But they were glad to see each other.

Lucy and Harry started dating. He was perfect. He was what in her business was called “a unicorn.” That rare man who had it all and would be a perfect match.

While Lucy was enjoying Harry, she had a client named Sophie (Zoë Winters). Sophie went on a date Lucy had matched for her. The man assaulted her. Lucy’s boss Violet (Marin Ireland) told her the company was being sued. This news upset Lucy. She felt responsible but didn’t know how to fix it.

That upset caused her to reexamine a lot of things about her life and work.

Lucy turned to her old flame John when she was troubled. Broke as he was, he was always there for her.

Lucy had set speeches she used to convince people they wanted to date and marry. But she didn’t believe it for herself. She was practical, materialistic, and transactional in her opinion of marriage. One theme that emerged from her various exchanges with clients was that finding a partner and love made them feel valued and worthy.

Lucy and John crashed a wedding. When he asked her why people even get married, she said, “Because people tell them they should, and because they’re lonely, and because they’re hopeful.” Thematically, however, the film was more mysterious about the reasons people fit together, checked boxes or not.

You could call this a romcom, but calling it a love story would be more accurate. I thought it was wonderfully done and unique. It’s rare to find something unique in this genre. Kudos to Celine Song and this outstanding cast for bringing it to us.

I saw the film on HBO Max. It’s available in other places and for a rental fee from some streamers. I hope you can find and watch it, because it’s a strong and beautiful film.