The Substance

The film The Substance arrives on our screens, crowned with the Screenplay Prize of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. This prize is deserved because indeed the idea is good, the film too, but it is not a shocking film, nor very gory, like some media tries to make us believe it. Review guaranteed without spoilers.

Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), presents an aerobics show. But her producer Harvey (Dennis Quaid) wants to replace her with a younger, sexier woman. Ready to do anything to keep her job, she decides to use a mysterious substance, which allows her to split into a young woman, Sue, (Margaret Qualley). But both women must follow strict rules and nothing will go as planned.

Demi Moore plays the fallen star. Her performance carries this movie. Revealed by the film Ghost, she became a sex symbol in the 90s, with Indecent Proposal, Striptease. Then in the 2000s, the actress became rarer and played supporting roles. In this film, she courageously lets herself be filmed naked. She reveals a vulnerability that we no longer knew she had, being in control of her image. Her charisma is shining on the screen. At her side, Margaret Qualley is as talented as ever. Special mention to Dennis Quaid who has a blast in this role of vile producer. He also replaced Ray Liotta at the last minute, who died shortly before filming.

Coralie Fargeat's is very stylized, with very close-ups, or on the contrary extra wide shots, with an amplified depth of field. The colors are garish. The more the film progresses, the more grotesque and burlesque it becomes. Without Manichaeism, the director denounces the dictates of beauty and youth imposed on women, and their internalization by them. This french movie maker has directed her movie in France, in the studios sets of Epinay, Nice, Cannes and Paris.

THE SUBSTANCE
Rated R 

Written and directed by Coralie Fargeat 
Produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Coralie Fargeat
Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid
Cinematography by Benjamin Kračun
Edited by Jérôme Eltabet andValentin Féron
Music by Rafferie
Production company : Working Title Films, A Good Story, Universal Pictures 
Distributed by MUBI (United States), Metropolitan Filmexport (France)
Release dates : November 6, 2024 (France), September 19, 2024 (United States)
Running time : 140 minutes
Seen on May, 19, 2024 at Cannes Film Festival

Sabine's Mark:

The Substance, directed by Coralie Fargeat, is a visceral and audacious examination of the destructive obsession with beauty, youth and perfection in modern society, particularly in Hollywood. This cinematic experience isn't just a horror film; it's a body horror spectacle fused with biting social commentary, using grotesque transformations and surreal imagery to amplify the pressures women, especially aging women, face in their struggle for relevance and acceptance. In many ways, the film is a feminist manifesto that unapologetically attacks the cruelty of an industry - and, by extension, a society - that values women first and foremost for their appearance, while dissecting the psychological toll this objectification takes on those trapped in its cycle.

At the heart of The Substance is Elisabeth Sparkle, played with raw emotional intensity by Demi Moore. Elisabeth is a former Hollywood star who has reconverted to hosting a popular TV aerobics show, a job that maintains her visibility but underscores the ticking clock of her waning relevance. Elisabeth's story begins when she is confronted with an inescapable truth: in Hollywood, youth and beauty are commodities with an expiration date. Coralie Fargeat wastes no time in establishing this brutal reality. On her 50th birthday, Elisabeth is ruthlessly dismissed by Harvey, a lecherous, macho TV executive played with grotesque flair by Dennis Quaid. This opening scene sets the stage for the film's examination of ageism and sexism, with Harvey embodying the ruthless patriarchal system that dictates women's worth based on their physical appearance.

Coralie Fargeat's decision to cast Demi Moore in the role of Elisabeth is in itself a meta-commentary on Hollywood's treatment of aging actresses. Demi Moore, once one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses, has endured the pressures of maintaining her looks and relevance in an industry that often rejects women over a certain age. In The Substance, Moore's performance is imbued with a deep sense of vulnerability and defiance, as Elizabeth is forced to confront the loss of her former self and the cruel judgments of those around her. She shows us the despair, sadness and deep psychological wounds inflicted by a society that no longer values her.

The film's central narrative device - a mysterious serum that allows Elisabeth to reclaim her youth by splitting her into two distinct beings - serves as a perfect metaphor for the destructive allure of perfection. When Elizabeth is introduced to the substance by a suspiciously youthful nurse, she sees a chance to reverse time and reclaim the version of herself the world once adored. The serum, neon green and unnaturally bright, becomes a symbol of the dangerous and seductive promises of beauty culture, where anti-aging treatments, plastic surgery and pharmaceuticals all offer the illusion of eternal youth.

Once Elisabeth has injected herself with the serum, the body horror begins in full force. Coralie Fargeat doesn't hesitate to plunge the audience into a grotesque, hypnotic sequence in which Elisabeth's body literally disintegrates. Her back is torn apart, and from within emerges Sue, a younger, more radiant version of Elisabeth, played by Margaret Qualley. This birth scene is disturbingly beautiful in its horror, a grotesque reflection of the way society expects women to constantly reinvent themselves to remain desirable. It's as if Elisabeth is shedding her old self to reveal the version of herself that conforms to society's unattainable standards of beauty, before realizing that this new form is not her salvation, but her undoing.

Margaret Qualley's portrayal of Sue is brilliantly nuanced, offering a stark contrast to Demi Moore's Elisabeth. Sue is everything Elisabeth would like to be again: young, confident and seductive. However, Fargeat deftly criticizes the superficiality of this youthful ideal. Sue's beauty is hollow, a façade that hides emptiness and vanity. The film frequently objectifies Sue, using exaggerated close-ups of her body as she performs aerobic exercises, accentuating the artificiality of her desirability. These scenes serve to criticize the way women's bodies are commodified in the media, with Sue's objectification reflecting the way society values women for their physical attributes rather than their talents or humanity.

As Sue begins to replace Elisabeth in her professional and personal life, the tension between the two grows. The two women, though ostensibly the same person, become rivals, locked in a toxic, symbiotic relationship. Sue quickly rises to fame, taking over Elisabeth's aerobics show and becoming the new face of the franchise. Elisabeth, meanwhile, is forced to take refuge in her sterile apartment, watching her younger sister bask in the adoration of the world. This dynamic evokes parallels with classic stories of duality and self-destruction, such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, where the battle between two versions of the same self leads to madness.

What makes The Substance so compelling is its relentless focus on the internal and external struggles of women in the public eye. Coralie Fargeat masterfully uses the dichotomy between Elisabeth and Sue to explore themes of vanity, self-esteem and the toxic quest for perfection. The film is acutely aware of the societal forces that shape women's self-perception, particularly in an age dominated by social media, where the pressure to present an idealized version of oneself is omnipresent. Sue's rise to fame is fueled by the same systems that rejected Elisabeth: superficial beauty, youth and conformity to the male gaze. Her success, however, comes at the expense of her own identity, as she becomes increasingly distanced from the reality that she and Elisabeth are, in fact, the same person.

Coralie Fargeat's direction is key to the film's success. Her use of camera angles and lighting transforms the visual experience into a critique of objectification itself. In the scenes featuring Sue, the camera is intentionally voyeuristic, forcing the audience to engage with the male gaze that scrutinizes and fetishizes her youthful forms. However, as the film progresses, this gaze becomes increasingly uncomfortable and grotesque, especially as Sue's perfect body begins to deteriorate under the weight of her vanity. In the final act, Sue's physical beauty is marred by the consequences of serum abuse, as her body literally begins to disintegrate.

The film's body horror elements intensify as the rivalry between Sue and Elisabeth reaches its climax. The “seven-day rule” that governs their existence - a cycle in which they must change places every seven days or suffer the consequences - becomes the catalyst for their downfall. Sue, intoxicated by her fame and beauty, begins to break the rule, staying in the world longer than she should, accelerating Elizabeth's physical decline. This deterioration is shown in gruesome, visceral detail, with Elisabeth's body withering and deforming in response to Sue's vanity. The horror of the film lies not only in the physical transformations, but also in the psychological torment that accompanies them. Elisabeth's desperation to regain her lost youth mirrors the self-destruction many women indulge in to conform to society's expectations.

The climax of the film is a bloody descent into madness, where the psychological horror of Elisabeth and Sue's internal conflict is translated into grotesque physical manifestation. Fargeat doesn't mince words in his depiction of this final battle, drawing inspiration from classic body horror films such as David Cronenberg's The Fly and John Carpenter's The Thing. The imagery becomes increasingly nightmarish as Elizabeth and Sue's identities merge into one monstrous entity, a literal embodiment of the destructive nature of vanity and self-loathing. The audience is forced to confront the grotesque consequences of a society that encourages women to mutilate themselves in pursuit of an impossible ideal.

Yet beneath the horror and grotesquerie, The Substance is a deeply tragic film. Elisabeth's journey is imbued with profound sadness, as she faces the loss of her identity, her career and her self-esteem. Demi Moore's performance captures the quiet despair of a woman who feels invisible, not only to the world, but also to herself. The film's most poignant moments are the scenes where Elisabeth, alone in her apartment, stares at her reflection in the mirror, desperately trying to hold on to the version of herself she once was. In these moments, the horror is not in the physical transformation, but in the psychological consequences of living in a society that equates a woman's worth with her appearance.

Fargeat's feminist outlook is evident throughout the film, particularly in her critique of the male-dominated structures that perpetuate these harmful standards of beauty. Harvey, the grotesque executive who dismisses Elisabeth at the start of the film, is the embodiment of this patriarchal system, reducing women to objects to be consumed and discarded when they no longer fulfill their function. His treatment of Sue is no different from his treatment of Elizabeth; both women are merely tools to be used to maintain his power and status. The critique of Harvey and the system he represents is scathing, revealing the dehumanizing effects of a culture that places such a high value on superficial beauty.

The Substance is a film about the impossibility of escaping the pressures of society. Elisabeth's attempt to regain her youthfulness thanks to the serum ends up destroying her, both physically and mentally. The film's final act, in which the monstrous consequences of her actions become apparent, is both horrific and tragic. Fargeat leaves the audience with a grim reminder of the cost of pursuing perfection: it's a cycle of self-destruction that consumes not only the body, but also the soul.

With its bold visual style, powerful performances and unflinching social commentary, The Substance confirms Coralie Fargeat as a director unafraid to tackle the darker aspects of society's expectations and self-image. The film is a masterful exploration of the intersection between vanity, identity and the monstrous consequences of living in a world that demands perfection. It's a bold, disturbing and thought-provoking piece of cinema that stays with you long after the credits roll. A pure masterpiece that quite simply makes Coralie Fargeat one of the new queens of horror, and a worthy descendant of directors such as David Cronenberg, Wes Craven and John Capenter.

The Substance
Written and directed by Coralie Fargeat 
Produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Coralie Fargeat
Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid
Cinematography by Benjamin Kračun
Edited by Jérôme Eltabet andValentin Féron
Music by Rafferie
Production company : Working Title Films, A Good Story, Universal Pictures 
Distributed by MUBI (United States), Metropolitan Filmexport (France)
Release dates : November 6, 2024 (France), September 19, 2024 (United States)
Running time : 140 minutes

Seen November 1, 2024 at Gaumont Disney Village, Room 7 seat A18

Mulder's Mark: