Materialists arrives on Sky Cinema this March: Love, luxury, and impossible choices

New York has never looked so glamorous — or so emotionally treacherous. Materialists, the sharp and stylish new romantic drama from director Celine Song, lands on Sky Cinema this March, inviting viewers into a world where love is negotiated like a business deal and attraction comes with a balance sheet.

A romance set in the city of transactions

Set against the glittering backdrop of Manhattan’s elite dating circuit, Materialists explores what happens when modern relationships become entangled with status, wealth, and perception. As Song observed in Variety,
“‘I’m looking for a man in finance, trust fund, six-foot-five, blue eyes’... it’s the way the dating world already speaks. Everybody has already been commodifying and objectifying each other and ourselves. But the way it plays out, inevitably, is going to lead to dehumanisation.”

It’s a thesis that underpins every interaction in the film — where affection is weighed against ambition, and compatibility can hinge on lifestyle rather than feeling.

Meet Lucy: Matchmaker to the stars

At the centre of the story is Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a former actress who has reinvented herself as a boutique matchmaker catering to New York’s wealthy singles. Lucy has built a reputation for success, having orchestrated nine marriages with her instinct for chemistry. Yet while she expertly engineers other people’s happy endings, her own romantic life is far less certain.

Lucy believes her fairytale will feature a suave financier — someone who embodies security, sophistication, and the kind of luxury her clients crave. When she meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), a charming and affluent “unicorn” bachelor, it appears destiny may finally be aligning with her carefully curated ideals.

The complication: An old flame returns

But fate, as ever, has other plans. Re-enter John (Chris Evans), Lucy’s ex-boyfriend, who resurfaces while catering the same wedding where Harry makes his move. John is everything Harry is not: financially precarious, artistically driven, and still hustling through New York’s unforgiving theatre scene.

Despite his modest circumstances — house-sharing, gig-to-gig survival — John carries a familiarity and emotional spark Lucy can’t ignore. The film’s tension lies in Lucy’s dilemma: pursue the polished promise of Harry’s world, or surrender to the messy, magnetic pull of a past she thought she’d outgrown.

Casting that crackles with chemistry

Celine Song’s casting choices bring layered nuance to the love triangle. Speaking to Cosmopolitan, Song explained her decision to cast Pedro Pascal as Harry:

“One day we were having a conversation about the difficulty of love and I remember feeling, like, ‘Oh my God, I think my friend is Harry’. The sensitivity that Pedro has, there’s a softness that is sometimes being disguised by this hard shell of being a man who is surviving a zombie apocalypse [in The Last Of Us] or whatever.”

Dakota Johnson, who admired Song’s earlier work, initially doubted she’d land the role of Lucy. Her eventual portrayal reveals a woman both composed and conflicted. As Johnson told AP:

“Lucy is at the top of her game in her work and is very disconnected from her heart. On the surface, you see her as a very transactional person and not really invested in people’s souls, but she actually is and really does want the best for them. She’s also on her own journey of trying to figure out what it is she wants for herself in this life.”

Chris Evans, meanwhile, trades superhero bravado for vulnerability. Song described John in Rolling Stone as:

“John is an amalgamation of an entire lifestyle of theatre artists in New York City. He’s somebody who was born poor and grew up poor and has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about it in a way that’s really beautiful, and I find that to be quite moving.”

More than a love story

While Materialists delivers romance and star power, it also offers a pointed reflection on contemporary dating culture — where image, income, and aspiration can overshadow authenticity. Song’s script dissects the emotional cost of treating people as checklists rather than human beings.

The result is a film that is by turns witty, seductive, and quietly devastating.

When and where to watch

Materialists premieres on Sky Cinema this March. Whether you’re drawn by the irresistible cast, the New York glamour, or the film’s incisive take on modern love, this is one to add to your watchlist.

Because in a city where everything has a price, the heart may be the most expensive risk of all.