droll

As a filmmaker, Victor is particularly skilled at doling out warmth, dotted with almost shockingly droll lines of dialogue along the way.

Even if the film didn’t present a fascinating thematic parallel to Johnson’s career, she’d still be perfectly suited for a movie like “Materialists,” which demands its lead to inhabit Lucy’s droll cynicism.

As Lucy, she is refreshingly droll, hitting the film’s comedic beats with a softer touch that lends itself to her character’s tendency to play the spin doctor.

The subsequent expedition is filled with offbeat personalities who help Hernandez and Stephens construct their myth, before poking the bricks out one by one, in ways both droll and achingly sad.

Pugh, with her droll line readings and smudgy blue eyeliner, plays apathy better than anyone; she’s compelling even with all the passion drained from her body.