Stimulating, combustible, nauseating, and repulsive are all perfect adjectives to describe director, writer, co-producer, and co-editor Coralie Fargeat’s (Revenge) explorative and provocative The Substance. This film doesn’t just knock on the door of critiques of the societal obsession with youth and beauty but blows off its shutters. The Substance offers no subtlety in its themes. This film is designed to make its audiences feel as squeamish as the entertainment industry’s treatment of women, particularly older women. The impossible beauty standards and society’s preoccupation with youth (particularly young, attractive women) are nothing new. Fargeat meticulously brings this to the forefront and apologizes for nothing. Nor should she.
Demi Moore (GI Jane, Striptease) stars as Elisabeth, an aerobics instructor, on the highly successful “Sparkle On Up” television show. But, she’s also on (in society’s standards for physical beauty) the wrong side of 50. Dennis Quaid (Frequency, Any Given Sunday) is freakishly good as Harvey, the television network’s vile, tasteless, and obnoxious president. He is loud, speaks without a filter, and deems the needs of anyone other than himself unimportant. Harvey is hellbent on doing whatever is necessary to improve his network’s ratings and appease the stakeholders. He understands that one of the simplest ways to achieve this is through sex appeal. It may or may not be a coincidence that Fargeat named Quaid’s character Harvey, as that is the same name as the revolting disgraced ex-movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Although viewership hasn’t fallen off, Harvey still fires Elisabeth despite not having a successor.
Riddled with stress and anxiety as she tries to deal with an unreasonable situation reasonably, Elisabeth is involved in a car accident that lands her in the hospital. With barely a scratch on her body, she is quickly discharged. However, on her way out, a suspicious-looking nurse slips her a flash drive as she leaves the office. A perfect candidate for what?
Upset after being undignifiedly fired because of her age, Elisabeth learns of a mysterious product called ‘The Substance,” a neon green, slimy fluid that she injects into her body. Through a gruesome transformation, as Elisabeth writhes on the ground in pain, her spine splits open as Sue (Margaret Qualley – Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, Poor Things), a younger version of Elisabeth, oozes out. Sue, fully functional physically and mentally, follows the same directions provided to Elisabeth, using a kit to sew up the wound and a stabilizer fluid on Elisabeth’s body to keep her body balanced.
The Substance allows Elisabeth to continue working as she had been before, receiving the same praise and being treated as the star she previously was in the ever-advancing, lust-hungry industry. Elisabeth transforms into Sue, a woman no one has heard of before. How had Sue made it this far without her physical beauty being sought after? She is an undiscovered, gorgeous twenty-something aerobics instructor with a body that men drool over. But Sue is not someone who has just appeared off the streets. Elizabeth and Sue are the same. Sue has the same skills as an aerobic instructor and knows how to talk to executives, interact with her dancing team, etc. Perfect, right? Not so fast.
There is a tradeoff, though. Elisabeth and Sue can never be seen at the same time. Only Elisabeth knows she and Sue are the same, and she has constant difficulty processing this. The tradeoff is that the two versions of the woman must trade at one-week intervals. If it is Sue’s week, Elisabeth is on the stabilizer, and vice versa. There are consequences if the window is missed (even if it’s by a few minutes). Bargaining, pleas, refunds, and reversals are all demanded when situations go from bad to worse, to situations that drive our lead character into a state of mania and derangement, all through the unvoiced, unrealistic pursuit of youth, regardless of the associated side effects.
I’ve seen many comparisons between The Substance and David Cronenberg movies (notably The Fly). In terms of body horror, those similarities are warranted. However, The Substance has, for lack of a better word, more substance than most other body horror films. Fargeat’s use of vibrant colors and bodacious set designs add to the film’s decor in a way that doesn’t allow the film’s visuals to get too dark despite its bleak themes.
While watching The Substance, I couldn’t help but initially think that a 50-plus-year-old Demi Moore was too good-looking to play the part. Why would someone so stunning feel the need to undergo the procedure? As I reflect now, that was the point that Fargeat was trying to make, and I’m disappointed in myself that I needed time to process this to see it. No matter how we may look physically, there is a lurking uncertainty in many of us who are constantly being judged. The truth is that we are all being judged. We all do it. It’s part of human nature. Father time is still undefeated. Resiliency can often be tricky.
In a year that has offered films more than the meets-the-eye type of films, such as Challengers, Civil War, Strange Darling, and others, The Substance is the most daring and overt, with its critiques of society’s obsession with youth and beauty. Though not for everyone, many will enjoy The Substance. There will be many who won’t make it through the first half. Those who do enjoy it will be all in on its over-the-top satirical storyline. While the slow build-up, the negotiating and bargaining between Elisabeth and Sue, and the descent into madness will be a bit too much “stomach” for most audiences, there will be many who will rank this in their top five movies of 2024.
Plot 8.5/10
Character Development 8.5/10
Character Chemistry 8.5/10
Acting 8.5/10
Screenplay 8.5/10
Directing 8.5/10
Cinematography 10/10
Sound 8.5/10
Hook and Reel 8/10
Universal Relevance 10/10
87.5%
B+
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