Materialists is not your typical love triangle story. Celine Song’s first project following her Academy Award-nominated debut film Past Lives chronicles Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a professional matchmaker in New York City, as she attempts to navigate her own love life with men from her past and present (Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal). Like she did in Past Lives, Song takes quite a minimalist approach to Materialists when it comes to dialogue and camera work, which consequently puts an added emphasis on the little things within her actors’ performances.

And Song has no shortage of talent to execute those nuances. Materialists is captained by Dakota Johnson, a former CinemaCon Female Star of the Year Award winner, and is supported by Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal, two of the most accomplished franchise-leading men of the 21st century.

ScreenRant‘s Liam Crowley spoke with Johnson and Evans to discuss the subtleties they brought to their performances as Lucy and John, from body language to blocking, as well as who from their respective careers has made them feel the same sense of value that is a central theme to Materialists.

Chris Evans Emphasized Body Language In Key Interaction With Pedro Pascal

“I’m glad that that handshake left a mark…”

To the untrained eye, Materialists seems to have a lot of downtime, as dialogue is short and camera cuts are used sparingly, but that makes all the little things that much more vital.

“Certainly, Celine is aware of that. You have discussions,” Evans said of how much of his performance’s nuances were explicitly instructed in the script. “That moment with me and Pedro where we shake hands, one of the few moments where him and I get to interact, there’s so much to be said there, even though there’s very minimal dialogue.”

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That handshake that Evans alludes to sees his character of John fully extend his arm out to Pascal’s Harry, while Harry keeps his elbow flush to his hip.

“There’s going to be a lot underneath a handshake,” Evans continued. “We all have some sort of connection to these experiences. These feelings, the compeтιтiveness, the inadequacy, the insecurity, and the love. I’m glad that that handshake left a mark because I really liked that moment a lot.”

Dakota Johnson Felt Valued By Director Celine Song

“We just had an incredible partnership…”

Moments like that handshake all contribute to one of Materialists‘ larger themes, which revolves around how people chase partners who make them feel valuable. The film illustrates that message in a bit of a superficial way, but there is a genuineness within it that can be applied to life as a whole.

“Celine. It’s Celine,” Johnson said when asked who from her career has made her feel valuable. “We just had an incredible partnership and I felt valuable.”

“Celine worshipped Dakota,” Evans added. “She’d be like, ‘Alright, cut. Great. Everyone was great. Everyone was great. Dakota! Wow.’ And you’re like, ‘Okay, how was I Celine?'”

Song’s admiration for Johnson’s efforts on Materialists could be attributed to some of her own instinctive decisions. The director blocked a particularly pivotal scene to place the two actors on screen in the opposing vertical thirds, and when an accusatory comment is made, Johnson’s Lucy steps back, disrupting the symmetry that was previously on the screen.

“I would love to say it’s deliberate, but no,” Johnson said. “What’s the word I’m looking for? Intuitive.”

Source: ScreenRant Plus