Written by: Coralie Fargeat
Starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid
Rating: [4.5/5]
The physical demands placed upon women not just in Hollywood but all aspects of life comes as nothing new to anyone who pays attention. An expectation to remain young with the threat of someone younger and more attractive could replace them in a moment’s notice. It, therefore, comes as no surprise what lengths the women caught in this cycle will go to in order to maintain what they have built, even if it veers into the self-destructive as captured in the unrelenting The Substance. A tale without the smallest ounce of subtlety in its body but in the best way.
Now turning 50 years old, former Hollywood star and now a TV aerobics instructor, Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) receives notice she is surplus to requirements because of her age. Distraught at her world falling apart, she learns about a black-market serum called “The Substance” that promises to create a younger and prettier version of oneself with a set of defined rules. Taking the serum out of desparation, Sue (Margaret Qualley) spawns out of Elisabeth.
Seeing how the events of The Substance transpire, it begs the question of what Hollywood celebrities would use this serum and the truth may yield more depressing results that one would like. Taking this drug offers this promise of something unattainable by any other means. No plastic surgery or drug will provide what “The Substance” will and this demented ride into self-destruction makes for such a tremendous film that will make audiences laugh, wince, and gawk at what we witness here.
This feature serves as the sophomore film by Coralie Fargeat, who wowed with her debut feature, Revenge. A film that held nothing back in its brutal story and contained its fair share of gore, but she completely ratchets it up here as she leaves the desert and sets her eyes on Hollywood. She expertly dissects this phenomenon of self-hatred women have continually grown within themselves as the rest of society does when they no longer have the desired attributes. A self-fulfilling prophecy, which leads to women going through different procedures to maintain what gets valued in this world and this takes this yearning to acquiesce and makes it a grotesque journey that thoroughly entertains.
While the overall critique of the film can be seen as surface-level by some, the manner in which it goes about doing it makes it stand apart as something completely its own vision. Fargeat builds out this laughably over-the-top world that’s hyper-stylized and strangely feels artificial but many would say the same thing about the real Hollywood. No one exemplifies this more than Dennis Quaid’s character, Harvey. I’m presuming Fargeat told the guy to just ham it up and Quaid certainly obliged as he delivered every single line with such heightened ridiculousness. While mostly an empty character, Harvey feels emblematic of this entire world where substance, no pun intended, ceases to exist and only aesthetics truly matter. It further cements what makes Elisabeth’s decision to take the serum all the more plausible and ultimately desirable. She can have her expensive home in Hollywood, all the money she could ever spend, but only this serum can provide her with youth.
Therefore, we have a story oscillating between Elisabeth and Sue, who supposedly are one but act fairly different, as one could imagine. Sue, as young people typically display, has this higher degree of self-centeredness, which threatens to mess up the particular set of rules strictly laid about by the instructions of the serum. This sets up the spiral down toward madness where this film truly begins to hit its stride and the body horror begins to take hold as the consequences of the actions of these characters begins to outwardly display.
Once the madness begins, Demi Moore begins to exhibit what makes this such a tour de force performance. An actor who proclaims always felt she was just a popcorn actor because of what a producer said to her years ago goes absolutely nuclear in this feature in the best of ways. She harnesses all of the complicated emotions of her character. She brings this unbridled anger at her life circumstance but also this unrelenting sadness that gets summarized in the mirror scene as she prepares for a night out. This moment demonstrates the level of self-hatred and pain Elisabeth experiences because of an insecurity caused by these external elements digging themselves into her psyche. This overarching sadness gets through all of the body horror and hilarity this film brings, and Moore captures it all in a way that deserves immense praise.
Then we have her co-star Margaret Qualley, who seemingly cannot miss in the projects she attaches herself to and the directors she collaborates with. In 2024 alone she has worked with Ethan Coen in Drive-Away Dolls, Yorgos Lanthimos in Kinds of Kindness, and now she concludes an incredible year by working with Fargeat as Sue. Qualley brings this airiness to Sue that makes her this near-artificial presence that makes it all the more hilarious where everyone around her cannot contain themselves in gawking at. Truly one of the brightest talents of her generation at the moment as she continues to take on such fascinating roles and working with some of the best directors in the game right now.
Utterly demented in every possible way but also navigating some difficult emotions, The Substance packs a wallop of a punch in the way it navigates this cautionary tale we all know well. Just when you think you know exactly where the story will go, Fargeat continually takes it in places that will provide a visual that will sear itself into our brains in both devastating and hilarious ways. A one-of-a-kind film that remains an unforgettable experience.
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