If you haven’t heard it yet, the A24 movie “Materialist” has evoked strong opinions on love and modern-day standards. The movie follows Lucy the matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) and her two love interests, John (Chris Evans) and Harry (Pedro Pascal). While Harry lived in a twelve-million-dollar penthouse in Tribeca, John, on the other hand, had roommates in a small three-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn.

In other words, the male leads were in two completely different economic and social statuses. Since this played a huge factor in the movie, people were not happy with Lucy’s choice. I’m pretty sure some of it had to do with the fact that she didn’t choose the one and only Pedro Pascal.

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John VS Harry

Let’s start off with the dollar signs in the room, John not doing well off in his late 30s was concerning and off-putting. Being with someone who doesn’t make more than a couple of bucks a week is not on any of our checklists. The major issue with John is not the fact that he still lives with his roommates.

It's the fact that he did not change in the ten years he and Lucy were broken up. There was no character growth for him in the timeline we saw. I see this as a realistic thing.

It is realistic because we all like this idea of change and development, but forget that it takes a strong shift in mentality to do such a thing. With that idea in mind, this can either support or hurt John’s character. Now, stay with me, it wasn’t that John was bad before; he just was not at his full potential, nor was he good enough for Lucy. So, technically speaking, the break-up should have been the shift to tell him, Get your act together. It makes you question if the break-up was really that heartbreaking for him…

However, you can still look at it from a more realistic point of view, and instead of this break-up being a wake-up call, it was more like a negative reinforcement. Which I feel like is more likely because he lost the love of his life, he has no stable job, and his dreams are still far from his reach. What is his motivation in life?

There was no variable in his life that called for change. I think getting back with Lucy was the wake-up call he needed. Ok, maybe not a wake-up call, but it was a spark of motivation. Sometimes, instead of a drastic event to get us to change, we just need something worth fighting for/changing.

As for Harry, he really is a unicorn. A man in his thirties, wealthy–not just well off–with a penthouse and high social status. Wow.

Not only is this unrealistic, but everyone fails to mention that Harry came from a wealthy family, so this has always been his bubble. Harry does not know the real struggle. I am not trying to dismiss his self-esteem issues, but if you think about it, when he was faced with those issues, money solved them.

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That's a major reason why we wanted Lucy to end up with him and why many of us want a Harry in our lives. In addition to coming from a wealthy family, Harry did not have to work for his title at work, and he most likely didn’t have to work for his salary because it came with his last name. Many people like to criticise those born with privilege, yet fail to realise Harry came from exactly that.

He had the resources to take Lucy on these fancy dates, buy beautiful flowers and materialise the feelings he had for her. Love is about making the best with what you have, and both of these characters did just that.

Not to mention if John had money, I promise his acting dreams would’ve come true with a few signed checks. Nonetheless, I don’t think Harry was a bad character at all; it's just that he was not realistic, while John was. Because even if John had a stable job, it would never amount to the wealth Harry had. So, John would’ve never seemed like the right choice because one thing about people is that they do not like to face reality.

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Modern Dating & Love

The movie and reaction were a reflection of modern dating. I am no loveologist or dating data researcher, but I am an active YouTube short scroller. Which means when I got a sense of people’s reactions and debates, my mind automatically went to the people who would do street interviews.

Those interviews about what people's ideal type was. It was exactly like one of Lucy's clients' checklists. It can make you wonder where love fits into the checklist. And can love be a checklist? I think this generation is obsessed with the idea of love and, most importantly, love that can be shown in a performative way.

If you are with someone broke like John, for instance, you would not be able to show off your love because it would be in the words you speak in a closed room and in the little things that only you two can understand. Hence, if you were to post that you got proposed to with a flower in Central Park after a normal day, nobody would get it and question the love you have. Love is not meant to feed other people's wants or check off their checklist.

If you were with someone like Harry, you could show your love to others. You can show off the fancy dinners, the big diamond ring and the nice couple's trip to Iceland on a random weekday. In other words, modern dating can seem performative in my eyes.

However, the point people were trying to make is that they want financial stability. They want the money rather than the love. It's like the “would you rather be happy but poor or sad and rich?” I think it does prove the movie's point: the fact that people want something that others give value to, rather than something that you put value into. It is a realistic point, though, because at the end of the day, that is how we survive.

But at one point, when you are old with wrinkles and grey hair, will money be there to bring you comfort? (I mean, unless you want to spend your last days in the Bahamas, then with someone or people you love.) So, yes, it is for survival, but what happens once you pass that phase? Unless you are already thinking about all the vacations you can take and designer bags you can buy. The world can take your money, but don’t let it take away something that can bring real fulfilment into your life.

Who would you choose?

I would choose Harry. I’m kidding! I would choose John because I’d feel more comfortable.

For example, on the date with Harry, she mentioned that what makes people a great match is when they come from the same background, whether it is economic, social, cultural, educational, etc. So, being with someone who has more than I would probably make me feel like we will never be on the same level. I wouldn’t mind being with a John that had fewer years on him, and I’d hope we could get our funny and money up together.

I can't believe I went into a deep analysis of a freaking movie. But I was surprised by people's reactions and criticism because I was actually looking forward to the movie, and it was not horrible. I mean, come on, Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans AND Pedro Pascal? Enough said.