After her breakout in Fifty Shades of Grey and intense roles in films like Suspiria, Dakota Johnson returns in a fresh and intriguing new feature. In A24’s romantic comedy Materialists, directed by Celine Song, she plays Lucy—a successful New York matchmaker seeking the perfect partner for her client. The plot plunges into a love triangle: Lucy is torn between the wealthy, polished Harry (Pedro Pascal) and the charming yet flawed John (Chris Evans)

This isn't just your typical rom-com. It promises to redefine the genre through subtle commentary on modern dating culture and emotional nuance. The chemistry between Johnson, Evans, and Pascal lends depth, showing Johnson as both charismatic and vulnerable—a sign of her growth toward more mature roles.

Set against the fast-paced backdrop of contemporary Manhattan, Materialists explores romance, identity, and class through the lens of one woman caught between what she thinks she wants and what her heart truly needs. Lucy, portrayed by Dakota Johnson, is no stranger to love — or at least, to managing it professionally. As one of New York’s most sought-after matchmakers, she prides herself on understanding human behavior, compatibility, and emotional logic. But when her own emotions become entangled in a client's case, the control she’s known begins to slip.

What makes Lucy compelling isn’t her confidence — it’s her quiet internal contradictions. She's smart, capable, and observant, yet beneath her curated image lies someone longing to be chosen not for her poise or insight, but for who she is when she isn’t being useful. Through nuanced writing and Johnson’s layered performance, Lucy becomes a portrait of modern womanhood: self-made and self-aware, yet vulnerable to the timeless confusion of love.

Director Celine Song brings the same emotional precision she demonstrated in Past Lives, infusing every scene with subtext and stillness. In Materialists, romantic tension simmers through microexpressions, offhand remarks, and loaded silences. It’s a film that understands love is rarely loud — it’s felt most deeply in what remains unsaid.

As Lucy becomes emotionally involved with both Harry and John, her own values come into question. Harry offers security, sophistication, and the promise of a carefully constructed life. John, on the other hand, is unpredictable — a failed musician with a messy past, sharp wit, and genuine warmth. What begins as a professional obligation quickly spirals into a personal dilemma, forcing Lucy to confront not just her desires, but her fears.

Dakota Johnson captures this tension with impressive control. Her portrayal is filled with small but resonant choices — a pause before a response, a flicker of doubt mid-smile, or the way she breaks eye contact when emotions feel too raw. Lucy is never reduced to a trope; she’s allowed to be both composed and confused, kind and selfish, certain and overwhelmed.

Visually, the film leans into clean compositions and tactile, lived-in spaces — cafes lit with golden hour sunlight, cluttered apartments with half-written songs, luxury rooftops where silence feels more intimidating than words. This rich visual storytelling enhances Lucy’s internal state, balancing between the glitter of curated perfection and the warmth of imperfection.

The script resists easy conclusions. Rather than choose one man or the other in predictable rom-com fashion, Materialistsleans into ambiguity and growth. Lucy's journey is ultimately less about choosing between two men and more about reclaiming her own voice in a world that often sees women as facilitators of others’ love stories, rather than protagonists of their own.

Supporting performances — including a sharp turn by Greta Lee as Lucy’s best friend and confidante — provide levity and depth, rounding out a world that feels as emotionally real as it is narratively satisfying.

For Dakota Johnson, Materialists signals a new chapter. She sheds past personas and delivers a grounded, emotionally intelligent performance that shows restraint, complexity, and grace. Her Lucy is not an ideal — she’s a person, and that’s what makes her unforgettable.