The Last “Materialists”, or review the movie by Celine Song and A24 with a matchmaker’s eyes

Yesterday, I had a great evening, watching a new romantic comedy with a good cast, a delicious picture, and a screen adaptation of the eternal everyday drama “Love at the Call of the Heart.” If not for but…

Reading time 5 min 25 sec

The main character of Materialists is a matchmaker, as she is professionally called. In Ukrainian vocabulary, you would call her a go-between, a professional, but nevertheless. Right now, I would have to write a romantic review about how much I liked Dakota Johnson’s performance or who I fell in love with more – the character of Chris Evans or Pedro Pascal, if last year I had not received the Professional Matchmaker certificate from the Matchmaker Academy, London. Therefore, this review will be more about matchmaking and the social significance of this film.

The moment that a person with the profession of a matchmaker appeared on the screen in a film with a budget of $20 million is already significant because cinema is an echo of society and the processes that take place in it. As soon as something becomes popular, it automatically becomes interesting for creating content, and a full-length film on this subject is, in fact, a global recognition of the phenomenon. The profession of matchmakers is very popular in the USA, Asia, and Europe and is, to quote Pedro Pascal, a “luxury.”

The film, like a puzzle, consists of many nuances that may seem interconnected to a romantic comedy viewer. When I saw this story, I divided it into separate layers.

Lucy’s clients with their requirements, stories, and reviews. The screen shows the quintessence of human needs in the love market. “Age of women” and “financial status of men” are ancient currencies of this market, which is determined by the sacred mission of creating a couple as the birth of children. Modern research explains that, for example, such an unreliable indicator in terms of the possibility of procreation as a man’s height is associated by women with dominance, status, and access to resources, and a woman’s full lips are “physical features that reveal sexual maturity and youth” or an indirect cue of fertility [1, 2]. Another research highlights that physical attractiveness is more important for short-term relationships [2]. Matchmakers, in this case, only work with client requests, try to see deeper, and do not always provide services for matching a couple. At the entrance to the matchmaking agency, you should be ready for pre-screening, which may result in the matchmaker refusing to cooperate. The client can also get a recommendation for dating coaching or relationship psychology services within the agency to work in advance with their own request for a partner they will be looking for/matching.

Actually, the process of matchmaking is presented for the first time to a wide range of viewers. Many, even a lot of stages, components, and nuances, never ended up in the frame, but the general idea can be confidently formed. Personal meetings with clients to get to know each other and identify their needs (by the way, really somewhere in a cafe in the city so that the conversation was not forced). Receiving feedback on how the date went for each party, what they liked/disliked, and whether they want to continue dating. Celebrating an engagement or being present at a long-awaited wedding as the culmination of their professional work. All these are definitely the moments for which I love this cupid business.

The film also shows the “risks of dating” for clients, such as sexual harassment from a potential match that Lucy introduces. This line becomes the second main one next to Lucy’s personal choice of whom to start a relationship with. The woman, 40+ years old, successful in her professional field, has a pleasant but quite ordinary appearance (without visible “investment in herself”) after 5-10 unsuccessful dates. She finds herself in a situation where the man recommended for dating harasses her on the first date, and then she allows him to walk her home. And for me, it was essential to separate the events from the context:

– is it possible that she or some other woman met this man on a dating site or in an app?

– is it possible that she would have behaved differently if she had met this man under other circumstances and not through a matchmaker?

– is it possible that the dating site, friends, colleagues, or other “third parties” through whom the acquaintance could have taken place would take responsibility for such terrible consequences?

The film does not answer these questions. But on the screen, we can see how the issue of what happened moves at first into the legal field. This is important because professional agencies and personal matchmakers work with both lawyers, have professional liability insurance and certifications, and adhere to ethical standards of work in the industry. Second, Lucy, breaking the rules, personally comes to the client to support her when the man returns to her house a few days later and tries to get inside. As a woman, I am even scared to imagine the consequences of being an acquaintance while looking for a partner. As a matchmaker, my clients never had similar experience. But I know that no website dating or AI assistant can provide emotional support or protection, a sense of security, or some guarantee that a person is who he claims to be.

Lucy’s choose for herself, as she knows the dating market’s rules. We see the main character as a professional in her field, who has a reputation among colleagues, visible achievements in the number of weddings, and playing by the rules of this market by making expensive adjustments to her appearance. And who does she remain – a woman who chooses love or a matchmaker who accepts to the end that she and Pedro are “not a match” despite his willingness to be together? Remembering that this is a naive romantic comedy – I can choose any option. The only thing is that the question of where single matchmakers can meet and how to arrange their personal lives remains open. According to the ethical standards of work in the industry – matchmakers cannot afford to go on dates and have relationships with their clients.

Summing up this film, I see its release as having a positive impact on the matchmaking industry as a whole:

– popularization of the service – we can want what we know. So, both the demand for services and the demand for training in this field and the emergence of new faces may increase;

– a trigger for releasing true about the profession. Professional matchmakers will comment and review the film, with the revealing a little more behind the scenes and shed light on what their work actually looks like;

– increasing professional responsibility, standards for providing the service, the emergence of new ethical norms because the maximum risk of this service lies in the human factor (as its key advantage);

– more open, personal communication with clients so that they feel cared for;

– even more work with clients’ expectations, their hidden benefits from dating and relationships, the actualization of desires, or work with barriers. Today, most matchmakers already have a second specialization as coaches and psychologists or partners from these industries, and this trend will only gain popularity in the future;

– professional liability insurance. In general, matchmakers are mostly workaholics who are passionate about their chosen path, so we can expect new tools for risk management to appear.

Maybe my expectations are a bit high, in a positive way, but I really liked this film. In some scenes, I laughed, and in some moments, I got intellectual pleasure from the undisguised truth. As a matchmaker, I really consider the release of this film valuable for the development of the industry and the self-awareness of everyone who is interested in finding a partner in the modern world. At least due to these words:

“I’m an expert in dating, but not an expert in love.”