Celine Song’s “Materialists” may wear the trappings of a rom-com — the cute poster with the cast in formal wear, the trailer heavily featuring a fancy wedding — but it’s something else entirely: a moody, slow-paced romantic drama, with a woman at its center torn between two men. That description could equally apply to Song’s 2023 debut film, the beautiful Oscar-nominated drama “Past Lives.” Alas, though, “Materialists” doesn’t come close to reaching the emotional highs of “Past Lives,” mostly due to a crucial casting problem at its core.

Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a high-end matchmaker in New York City (a job Song once held herself), meeting with wealthy clients and listening patiently to their laundry lists of romantic requirements. (Some of these feel painfully funny yet true, such as the 48-year-old finance bro who considers a 31-year-old woman to be too old for him.) At a wedding for one of her clients, Lucy — who is single, and has vowed that she will marry the next person she dates — meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), who’s tall, handsome, charming and very rich. They begin a relationship, but Lucy is also drawn to her ex, John (Chris Evans), a broke cater waiter/actor who seems to understand her on a deep level. Who will Lucy end up with? Honestly, I wasn’t sure; they’re both dreamboats, with Pascal looking ridiculously good in a tuxedo.

But herein lies the problem: I found myself not caring a whit which one Lucy chose, because Johnson plays the character with her usual sleepy, vaguely murmuring blandness. I kept wondering what someone like Greta Lee (who played the female corner of the triangle in “Past Lives”) or Carey Mulligan might have made of the role, someone who could find Lucy’s beating heart. There are tiny moments when Johnson registers — she has a very funny expression of sudden glee upon first seeing Harry’s gorgeous apartment — but mostly Lucy just seems to be operating more slowly than everyone else. Her actions don’t make sense, because we don’t see her making decisions; she’s just gliding through the movie on a cloud of perfect bangs and lovely smiles. Maybe that’s how Song wanted Lucy — a blank slate to which other characters react — but it’s a hole in the middle of the movie.

Though “Materialists” nods at a few rom-com conventions (Lucy, in the grand tradition of every romance-seeking woman in movies or television, lives in an apartment far nicer than her income would dictate, and everyone who works at the matchmaking agency is ridiculously good-looking), it’s ultimately a gentle exploration of what we think we want from love, and how those things can change when the right person arrives. It’s also, disappointingly, about what happens in a movie when only two-thirds of the principal casting hits the mark. “Materialists” is a wistful near miss.

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'MATERIALISTS'

2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for language and brief sexual material)

Running time: 1:56

How to watch: Now in theaters

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