JournAELO 04082025

Yup, I went to the movie theater early in the afternoon. I guess I'm that old, now. But joke's on you because I honestly think that if I had went late at night I would have been so incredibly pissed off.

As I said in the excerpt, I went to see Celine Song's "Materialists". You know what?It would be way more accurate to say that my wife kidnapped me to see Celine Song's "Materialists". At this current moment in time, I'm really not a movie theater goer and I wasn't even aware that there was yet another movie featuring Pedro Pascal screening right now.

Boy, was this movie dull. From the scene decoration, to the costumes, to the performances. I like the aesthetic conveyed, but watching the trailer after watching the movie I finally discovered what was bothering me: the whole movie looks like the profile of some Instagram photographers. It has this warm, muted tones and also the clothing to match. Beige, white, muted blue. The only highlight I noted in the trailer is Dakota's blue dress that's front and center. For the love of me, I cannot remember anything else that looked bright. No soundtrack, either, but I will not complain about that, because I agree that it doesn't need one.

Now, the performances were some other kind of dull. I liked Chris Evan's performance. He's the broke ex, still holding onto Dakota Johnson's character. I think he has the most charm in the movie and his lines pack more emotional punch than the rest of the cast. I know that's by design and that we have Dakota's coldness, materialism and self-hatred to counter or balance the act... But the issue is that I couldn't believe what she tried to convey–even though she said the same "I hate myself" line three or 4 times. Pedro Pascal's performance and representation of a rich man who has everything but cannot connect emotionally/romantically could have been so much more if he was allowed to smile more and be brighter. He has the charm, and you can almost see it, but not really. I'm not saying he should bring the comedy to the mix, no. Just the smiles, just a sweeter tone to his voice... Just let him be the fucking unicorn you're telling us he is. That's another thing my wife and I noticed. The whole movie felt like it was taking itself too seriously. Too restrained. Like, as if the director was threatening the cast to do something to them if they had fun, smiled or tried to show too much emotion.

There's only one scene that explains the relationship between Dakota and Chris that struck me as the best of the whole movie. They were screaming in the middle of the street, during the day and in bright light, with more people around, cars honking, people complaining, lots of noise. That was fucking chaotic and Dakota's lines were brutal. I was left speechless... But that was it, the only real glimpse of brilliance I caught during the movie. Then back we went, to muted–almost numbing–scene coloring, clothing and performances. I'm scared to say that, to me, Zoë Winters' support character Sophie stole the show.

The ending? Meh. Cliche. You can tell from the beginning.

If you're looking for a rom-com, forget it, this ain't it. I don't think it should even be considered comedy at all. In my personal opinion, you're better of waiting for some streaming service to add it to its catalog to then watch it on a slow Sunday afternoon while doing your laundry.

Then, again, what the fuck do I know about movies?