Love Math, Messy Heart: Meet Lucy

What happens when the person helping everyone find love can’t make sense of her own feelings? That’s the irresistible premise of Materialists, the latest film from Past Lives director Celine Song — starring Dakota Johnson as Lucy, a matchmaker who’s great at pairing people up… but terrible at navigating her own romantic life.

Rooted in Song’s real-life stint as a matchmaker in New York City, the story brings both sharp insight and playful humor to today’s dating culture. “She’s (Lucy) somebody who’s very clear about the fact that love really does baffle her, but she’s very good at the math of dating,” Song describes.

Dakota Johnson IS Lucy

The moment Song met Dakota Johnson, she knew she’d found her Lucy. “We were having a meeting and the way that she is so vulnerable and so funny and sharp, I remember walking away from her thinking, she’s Lucy,” Song recalls.

In the film, Lucy’s career is soaring—but her own love life is a question mark. After a twist of fate reconnects her with her ex and introduces a new potential match, Lucy finds herself stuck between what looks perfect on paper and what feels heartbreakingly familiar.

A Chameleon in Love

Dakota Johnson loved how layered Lucy is. “She’s extremely nonjudgmental,” Johnson explains. “She just wants to deliver and she wants people to find love, but she’s pretty shut off from that search herself.”

Lucy’s many shades—playful, serious, guarded, and sincere—are what drew Johnson in. “I was drawn to the role because it’s so complex,” Johnson says. “Lucy has so many different dynamics in the film, so there’s many different Lucys. She’s a bit of a different person with every other character — she’s sort of a chameleon in that way. And then you’re wondering which of her is the truth, which I thought was just so fun to play with.”

Fragile, Flawed, and Fearless

Celine Song believes Lucy’s contradictions are exactly what make her compelling. “Lucy is so beautiful, but she’s very vulnerable when it comes to these things that come from her own intimate self-perception and self-objectification, which I think Dakota actually does understand from being in public forever,” Song notes.nce.

First Look at the Film

Catch a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Lucy’s world with the First Look featurette here:

Opening August 6 in PH Cinemas

Equal parts clever and romantic, Materialists is a witty exploration of modern love, self-worth, and second chances. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic or just romantically hopeless, Lucy’s journey will hit home.

Materialists is distributed by Columbia Pictures Philippines and opens in cinemas on August 6.

_{Photo & Video Credit: “Columbia Pictures”}