Romance as negotiation—desire measured in leases, logistics, and silences.
Materialists channels drama and romance under Celine Song; Hibipa evaluates craft choices, performances, and how the film meets its audience.
- Director
- Celine Song
- Runtime
- 118 minutes
- Release
- 2025-12-25
- Genres
- Drama, Romance
- Availability
- Limited theatrical then premium streaming
Critical analysis
Celine Song’s follow-up moves from Past Lives’ ache to Materialists’ arithmetic—romance measured in leases, loyalty clauses, and who gets invited to which room.
Dakota Johnson anchors the film with refusal-as-style; Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal orbit as complementary fantasies of competence and collapse.
The screenplay trusts ellipsis: scenes end early, letting shame linger rather than explain. That discipline keeps melodrama from curdling.
This is dating drama for adults who admit money changes listening. Hibipa recommends it as one of the season’s grown-up conversation starters.
Worth watching if…
You like love stories that admit money changes how people listen.
Strengths
- Pacing trusts viewers to track motive without redundant recap.
- Color and contrast support theme instead of decorating scenes.
- Blocking keeps geography honest—you always know who can see whom.
Weak spots
- Secondary antagonists read functional rather than memorable.
- A midsection beat repeats the same story point with minimal escalation.
- The finale resolves cleanly where messiness might have been braver.
Cast
Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, Marin Ireland, Zoë Winters
Trailer & footage
Official trailer uploads move between channels and territories. Hibipa links to YouTube results filtered for the exact title so you can verify distributor uploads.
If this clicked, try next
- Anora — Horror storytelling that pairs well with this pick.
- Train Dreams — Fantasy storytelling that pairs well with this pick.
- Verity — Drama storytelling that pairs well with this pick.
