The Substance

Original title:	The Substance
Director:	Coralie Fargeat
Release:	Cinema
Running time:	140 minutes
Release date:	20 september 2024
Rating:

Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? You, only better in every way. You should try this new product, it's called The Substance. IT CHANGED MY LIFE. With The Substance, you can generate another you: younger, more beautiful, more perfect. You just have to share time -- one week for one, one week for the other. A perfect balance of seven days each... Easy right? If you respect the balance... What could possibly go wrong?

Sabine's Review

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: