Though The Substance hasn’t been officially released yet, it has already made a name for itself among moviegoers and critics. I didn’t buy into the excitement at first, but now I think I’m embarking on my own hype train.
To get the elephant in Coralie Fargeat’s latest film out of the way first – I’m no lover of body horror, and actually hardly enjoy horror films at all. But the way The Substance twisted and played with my comfort (or rather lack thereof) is truly unique in cinema. To put it straight – if you’re a fan of disgusting images, you’ll love this one.
It’s so much more than just a gut-wrenching body horror. What sucked me into The Substance was its pure vibe, and how brilliantly Fargeat glues everything together with an astonishing screenplay that feels like a 80s gorefest on steroids, but which also has a lesson to teach, and is remarkably enjoyable.
The plot follows Elisabeth Sparkle, hostess of an aerobics fitness show and former Hollywood star recipient. She’s played brilliantly by Demi Moore, who puts forth her best performance in years. While Sparkle is enjoying her time in the spotlight, a deeply misogynistic studio exec by the name of Harvey (oh, the irony), played by Dennis Quaid, fires her because she’s no longer fit enough for the televisual fitness game. And by “fit,” he means youthful, beautiful, and sexy, though I don’t know how you could ever slight Demi Moore on this score.
After being fired on her 50th birthday, Elisabeth can’t accept that she’s no longer the star she was. She’s so perplexed by the loss that she gets in a car crash and lands in a hospital. While Elisabeth hardly experiences any damage at all, she accidentally finds out about the “Substance.”
Upon arriving at home, Elisabeth launches the mysterious “Substance” USB drive. She learns it’s a program that can turn her into “the best version” of herself. Or, as the narrator in an oddly sci-fi-like video says, “younger, more beautiful, more perfect.” And that better version turns out to be Margaret Qualley.
Demi Moore’s character doesn’t disappear, though, and even if she did, the film wouldn’t go into the abyss acting-wise. It turns out, that the “Substance” is a program that copies your DNA. As a result, Moore’s Elisabeth gives an obnoxious, somewhat-birth to Qualley’s Sue. Thereafter, each of them has a week on the surface, while the other one is in a coma until they both switch places. Each day they have to feed the second one by extracting each other’s DNA, and follow a strict rulebook. Or rather, one rule: no abuse of the drug and their time, otherwise, awful things will happen.
Moore’s is the character we resonate the most with; Elisabeth risks it all to prolong the period of her greatness, not knowing that this drug will not only hasten her demise, it will literally rip her apart.
Qualley is also terrific in her other-side-of-the-coin role. After she arises from Elisabeth’s spine (literally), Sue quickly takes over Sparkle’s role on the dance show, and is met with tons of attention from the hottest guys in town, is beloved by Harvey, and her image is emblazoned on billboards across the city. Despite beginning as an innocent, Sue quickly turns into a villain who tries to take more than she deserves.
Both lead actresses are nothing short of phenomenal, and display unique and universal themes. Qualley’s Sue reminds us of how damaging greed can be, and how quickly it can turn people into monsters. Nevertheless, it’s Moore who steals the show, portraying a wrathful and broken character whose struggle to accept herself leads to desperate, drug-like solutions which turn destructive in the long run. That’s what The Substance is, essentially: a story about how sins committed in pursuit of the fame, beauty, and money that ought to give us happiness, are often our undoing.
Watching Elisabeth and Sue do disgusting things to each other would be enough to keep viewers glued to the screen, while also making them look away for half the movie — or at least, judging by the viewers in my theater. If you can look past the film’s attention-grabbing surface, though, you discover how brilliantly The Substance is written, the myriad themes it refers to, and a vibe that pulls you into the ride.
There is a reason why Coralie Fargeat won an award for Best Screenplay at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival for The Substance. Somehow, she turned a gasp-inducting horror film into a complex story that rarely loses its direction. At the same time, tons of side elements are worthy of a mention on their own.
You’ll likely crack up at the film’s satirical humor, and cringe at the misogyny of Harvey and his friends, which is a painful reminder of how the entertainment industry still works. What mostly caught my attention, though, is the movie’s superb audiovisual framing.
Take, for example, that the theme song to Sue’s show is Endel’s “Pump it Up,” but that’s just the cherry on top. The Substance’s whole soundtrack is electronica with heavy beats, intended to keep you on the edge of your seat. The camera, on the other hand, often focuses on the details, a more than sensible cinematic approach given there are a lot of cuts, injections, needles, and so on. To create space for such nuances, the action rarely leaves claustrophobic rooms, which feel like prisons for their characters, and even metaphors for what’s going on in their heads.
It’s a lot to take in at once — and on paper, each element feels too distinct to go together hand in hand. But it works, and the praise of Fargeat’s screenwriting and directing is well-deserved. The Substance does occasionally go off-track sometimes, and by “sometimes,” I mean at the end. The ending drags on, and is a bit over the top — though by then, you’ll be so overstimulated that you’ll likely just laugh it off.
The last few minutes of The Substance might leave a sour aftertaste, though, almost as if certain limits were broken. That’s why its almost comical ending shouldn’t be discussed, but rather its middle. While horrifying on the outside, Fargeat’s latest hit tells a heartbreaking story on the inside. For that, it’s a must-see this year.
The Substance was seen at the 2024 New Horizons International Film Festival.
Published: Aug 1, 2024 12:07 pm