The Substance

The quest for perfection leads to ugly consequences in this scathing satire

Demi Moore tries to wipe away the aging process in Coralie Fargeat's excellent The Substance.

Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) used to be a huge name in Hollywood. An Oscar winner with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she’s now the face of a multi-million-dollar fitness empire (think Jane Fonda fitness tapes from the 80s). But despite all that success Elizabeth’s sparkle has dimmed significantly.

The problem isn’t that she’s less talented, or even out of shape, but sadly for Elizabeth, she just turned 50. According to the programming executive (who is a wrinkled, leathery man well past 50), Elizabeth might as well be dead once the public discovers her age. He cancels her popular workout program, sends her a bouquet, and basically wishes her a happy life out of the spotlight, where she can calmly wait for death.

Elizabeth, understandably, isn’t ready to concede that her life is now worthless. When she’s approached by a mysterious person about “The Substance”, she’s intrigued. The Substance isn’t your typical anti-aging measure like botox or a facelift. Essentially, Elizabeth is asked to inject herself with a mystery liquid, and a new, younger version of herself will literally claw its way out of her body. For seven days the younger version, Sue (Margaret Qualley) gets to go on auditions and make waves in the entertainment industry. Then, the duo must switch and Elizabeth gets to take over for a week and see all the success young Sue has accrued simply because she’s young and beautiful.

For a while, the situation works well. Sue becomes an overnight sensation and Elizabeth gets to enjoy retirement. But soon, cracks begin to form. Sue doesn’t understand why she has to switch with Elizabeth every week when she’s the successful one. Elizabeth begins to stew that Sue and the industry take her for granted. Can the duo co-exist? Or is the quest for fame and adoration ultimately a tragedy for everyone?

Smart, stylish, funny, and gross as hell, The Substance is like watching All About Eve directed by David Cronenberg. It’s a cutting look at the shallow depravity of the media, as well as the lengths women frequently go to in order to maintain their success in front of a camera. It’s not enough that Elizabeth is beautiful and skinny, she has crow’s feet and that’s just unforgivable in today’s world. She’s immediately rendered nearly invisible — with men literally bumping into her on the street as if they can’t see any woman over the age of 30.

Director/writer Coralie Fargeat leans into these feelings of exploitation and disgust. She picks at the procedures that women are often pressured to get to “maintain their looks”, pulling the beauty industry into the body horror genre. This is not a movie that’s for the squeamish. You will see flesh torn and skin rotting. Credit also goes to sound editor Victor Fleurant for crafting some of the most aurally disturbing noises I’ve ever encountered in film. The wet ripping and gushing noises in this movie should be taught in film school. The Substance is a visceral tearing down of beauty standards and the entertainment industry’s obsession with youth.

But even with its gore and grime, Fargeat never lets the film devolve into exploitation. This is not a dreary look at unfair beauty standards nor a maudlin piece on a fading star. The Substance is a kick in the teeth followed by a joke, and the combination works surprisingly well. Fargeat has a deft touch with tone and keeps just enough laughs and surprises in the narrative to keep the film engaging and entertaining.

And though there’s a fair amount of nudity in the film, Fargeat clearly isn’t trying to titillate. She’s throwing objectification and nudity in the audience’s face and daring them to really understand how dehumanizing it can be. When Sue is filming, she’s treated like a doll. Men from the crew gather around a closeup of her butt to scrutinize it for flaws. Sure, she’s successful, but she’s also essentially just a new product launch. No one, not even Elizabeth, really cares how she’s feeling or what she’s thinking.

Fargeat doesn’t just attack the male gaze, however. There’s a fair amount of criticism toward women for buying into this system that denigrates and disregards them. It is Elizabeth, after all, who chooses to take The Substance. It’s also Elizabeth and Sue who decide to take out their frustrations on each other instead of the patriarchal society holding both of them back. Fargeat seems fascinated by how easy it is to trick people into their own oppression.

And while Elizabeth and Sue are essentially two pieces of the same person, the performances they offer are brilliantly singular. Moore does some of her best work as an aging star who can’t understand why she’s “aged out” of being famous. She’s still talented, and she’s still beautiful, but none of that matters because she’s simply existed too long according to the industry. The unfairness and her own desperation turn into a dangerous cocktail, bringing out the monster in her.

As for Sue, Qualley is brilliant at playing a woman who learns quickly that wide eyes and a giggle get you farther with entertainment executives than a well-reasoned argument. As a result, she leans into her childish behavior, becoming a brat in her personal life while batting her eyes at the camera. She can’t vent her frustration to anyone, because girls with problems are ugly! So instead she suppresses it until the cameras turn off, then becomes a monster when no one can see her.

While the interplay between Sue and Elizabeth is the main crux of the film, there is some absolutely wonderful supporting work by Dennis Quaid. Playing the executive who is very pointedly named Harvey, Quaid chows down on the scenery (and some shrimp) in a way that is both abjectly nauseating and hilarious. Harvey has gotten away with being a misogynist degenerate for so long that it’s become his whole personality. Everyone around him just seems inoculated to how disgusting he is, forcibly ignoring all his egregious behavior.  

And though The Substance has a lot to say, its one downfall is not always trusting its audience. Metaphors and twists are over-explained, which begins to feel condescending. Fargeat should trust her audience more, she certainly got our attention with this brilliantly obscene piece of filmmaking.

If you’re in the mood for a movie that will challenge how you consume media (and if you can consume food at all after some of the more pronounced body horror sequences), please seek out Fargeat’s audacious, imperfect work. It’s always exciting to see a filmmaker take big swings and confront big topics, and Fargeat proves she’s game for both.

Verdict: Brilliant performances and direction make this body horror flick a must-see.

The Substance is rated R and available in theaters Sept. 20.