I watched The Materialists yesterday. I hadn’t really known what it was about, just that I’d seen Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal in some of the press tour for it. It looked a bit like a romcom and I like those so I thought I’d give it a try without watching the trailer.

I hadn’t realised it was Celine Song’s follow up after Past Lives.

And I guess I’m not really sure about how I felt about it after I finished it. It was okay? Pedro Pascal is ridiculously charming. It felt obscene to watch wealthy people dating and discussing the casual way money is brought up with no real understanding that most normal people are broke because of the cost of living and how the world is on fire? So it was hard to relate to some of it where people are like, I couldn’t possibly consider someone who doesn’t make 350,000 a year. In what world is that even realistic?

But other parts of the film? Yeah, I could get behind some of it. In particular when a white woman has a shifty look on her face when she says she is open to all ethnicities … but preferably start with white people. And I’m glad Dakota Johnson is in her cynical part of the storyline so that she could say ‘are you actually saying to me ‘whites only’ right now?’ because I’ve had to say to (white) people that I’ve matched with that I’m not white before. Especially if in the past it was just for a hook up.

I’ve had people tell me I was ‘too dark’ for their preferences. I’ve had people try to ‘collect’ my ethnicity before. I’ve had one person who was interested in me until he found out that I’m mixed race and then changed his mind. But no offence. It’s just his preference. I get people asking if I’m into interracial. ‘Into it’ – like I have a choice. Like, it’s a luxury item that you can pick up or put down depending on the mood you’re in. It’s gross. And I hate how racism plays into dating.