New Delhi, June 21: Everyday, ordinary love. That’s what “Past Lives” writer-director Celine Song set out to explore in her new movie “Materialists” about living and loving in 2025 New York.
“Materialists” features Dakota Johnson as successful New York City matchmaker Lucy. While recruiting prospective clients at a wedding she made possible, she meets rich and successful Harry (Pedro Pascal). There is also her not so perfect ex John (Chris Evans), a struggling actor making a living by picking up odd catering jobs.
“It’s so cool to be in a movie about everyday love, kind of ordinary love with these three great actors,” Song told PTI in an interview.
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Reviews for the movie, which released in theatres, have been mostly warm with many praising Song for going beyond the romantic-comedy trope to explore modern dating and relationships through a pragmatic lens.
Song is quite the romantic when it comes to love.
“… It’s really hard to believe in love, especially in 2025, right? It’s very hard to believe in love over money. And it’s amazing, the idea that you can get rid of all your financial troubles by just marrying right. The fantasy is so amazing.
“But I think the greater fantasy is falling in love in a way that none of that matters. I think that’s a bigger happy ending because when that happens, when love happens, it’s a miracle,” the filmmaker said.
Which is why the word “deal” carries so much romance within it in the context of the movie, she said.
“I feel in another romantic film, ‘deal’ is not a romantic word but in this movie called ‘Materialists’, it is a very romantic word. And the other romantic line is ‘How would you like to make a very bad financial decision?’ I’m like that’s not a very romantic line in other movies, but in this one, it’s a very romantic line,” she said.
Like “Past Lives”, her 2023 film about a married writer reconnecting with her childhood sweetheart from South Korea, “Materialists” also stems from a personal space for the director.
“It’s about the way I have to live and love in this city and also the way I have to live and love in 2025 because love is a personal thing. When I make a movie about love, it is always going to be about something really personal, so it’s really coming from the heart.”
Song, who began her career as a playwright before turning director, said she wanted to talk about love in a way that hits a nerve.
“(I wanted to) talk about it as honestly and as frankly as possible and if I’m able to be honest and frank, then the audience is invited to be as honest and frank.”
Johnson, Pascal and Evans seem to share a great friendship and chemistry, visible in the many promotional campaigns for the movie. Song said they were a dream to work with.
“I feel all three want to work on movies where they get to play real characters and people where they can feel close to themselves too. I know that they really fell in love with their characters and thought of them very personally and they loved them very personally. They worked really hard to create these characters that are relatable and are able to sort of exist in the world that we see.”
New York, the city where she lives with her writer husband Justin Kuritzkes, has played a central role in both her films. In “Past Lives”, it is depicted more as a tourist snapshot. In “Materialists”, it is the everyday New York that takes centrestage.
Song said her intention was to invite viewers from across the world to live in the city for those hours they are watching the movie.
“You might be in India but you kind of get to come visit New York City at its most lovable… it’s a very lovable vision of New York City, so you can come and then you can spend time with these characters for a couple hours in New York,” she said.
Is she aware of the affection that surrounds her in the film community, including India, for her film “Past Lives”?
Song said she considers it a “huge honour” that her films “inspire love in people who love movies”.
“The movie-loving community is so warm… I really only see things when they tag me on Instagram and things like that. I just love that there’s so many people, of course, from India too, who have so much affection for my movies…
“I love seeing people saying, ‘You know, I just saw it and I loved it and then they tag me and I’m always like, ‘Oh that’s so wonderful’.”
“Materialists”, a Sony Pictures and A24 Entertainment movie, released in theatres on June 13. (PTI)
