written by Charles Elmore
The Substance
written & directed by Coralie Fargeat
Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid
****THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS
In Hollywood, the literal hi-fi amplifier of our deliciously narcissistic society, an individuals humanity is often sacrificed at the altar of celebrity stardom and the obsession with immortal beauty. Whether an actor, model, influencer, or other public figure, we tend to lift these every day mortals upon a pedestal, shaping our identities around them from the moment we first connect with the object of worship. As we seem to succumb to the assault of age, we follow our idols through different phases of their lives, captivated by their seemingly ageless presence.
But with fame comes a cruel reality. Celebrities, once defined by their beauty, are forever enshrined by the media at the moment of their perfection. This "Dorian Gray" effect becomes the ultimate double-edged sword, as their youthful image remains frozen in time, while they must contend with the cruel reality of age, gravity and an impermanent attention span at home. A pursuit of ageless beauty and perpetual relevance—because nothing is worse than an aging celebrity who sticks around past their prime, forcing us to observe the hideousness of their natural state of age.
This is the premise at the heart of Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, her follow-up to the stunning 2017 debut, Revenge. The Substance stars Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, the film thrusts us, like alice down a rabbit hole, into the desperate depths a once-glamorous star, Elizabeth Sparkle (Moore), succumbs to in order to maintain her beauty and relevance in a ruthless, insatiable industry.
Before the Substance fully kicks off, we’re treated to a rapid montage of Elizabeth’s career in a locked overhead perspective of her star on a walk-of-fame style sidewalk. From the first pour of concrete, through the height of her fame all the way down to the literal cracks that form on her Hollywood Walk of Fame star we get fragments and flashes of her fame, adoration and eventual decline in just 5 minutes you get a lifetime of stardom before we find Moore’s character, now 50, still stunning though the signs of age are revealing. She is unceremoniously dropped from her failing aerobics show on her birthday by Harvey a slimy, chain-smoking network executive played deliciously by Dennis Quaid; a performance I might add that may single-handedly redeem the atrocious turn in this year’s Reagan. The nameless network wants someone younger, more relevant, more nubile and Quaid’s shrimp guzzling exec embodies the slimy, cynical network boss who sees people like Sparkle as disposable commodities.
After what could only be described as a Car Accident Ex Machina, Sparkle is tipped off about a mysterious product that promises to restore her to a more . Despite initial hesitation, she injects herself with the "substance"—only to find herself staring at her own lifeless body, while her consciousness has transferred into a younger version of herself, now played by Margaret Qualley.
From here, The Substance takes on a Cronenbergian exploration of fame, obsessive vanity, and the lengths to which a person will go to extend their youthful vitality and desire. Sparkle quickly discovers that she can prolong her life as this younger self, Sue as she names herself, for a limited time - 7 days no exception - before turning back to Elizabeth, any negligence to the rules and Sparkle could cause her real body to age and deteriorate in return. The process becomes addictive to Sue, leading to a spiral of increasingly reckless behavior as Sue - and in effect Elizabeth deep down - grows increasingly intoxicated with the new found fame and attention, while the real Sparkle is left paying the price in her decaying, older body. As the film descends into madness, it spirals deeper into the psychological and horrific physical toll of this new lease on beauty. Each time Sue (Qualley) breaks the rules and extends her “time” as the younger Sparkle, Elizabeth’s older body suffers the effects—her fingers become wrinkled and liver-spotted, her body deteriorates more rapidly. Sparkle’s literal body decays as the pressures she faces to maintain her image in an industry that prizes youth above all else reaches a fever pitch.
Writer and director Coralie Fargeat delivers a grotesque, gory and often hilarious parable about the pursuit of eternal youth, the narcissism and self-destructive nature of celebrity culture while sending up the dark side of fame, its horrifying affect on the human psyche, and the desperation that comes with trying to keep a stranglehold on an identity built on physical perfection and public adoration. Demi Moore plays Elizabeth Sparkle with self-loathing aplomb, capturing both the tragedy and insanity of a woman driven to destroy herself in pursuit of beauty and relevance. The film careens further away from horror to bordering on surreal absurdity with a finale that must truly be experienced in the dark confines of the theater to truly appreciate.
Ultimately, The Substance is a rapturous, thought-provoking film that lampoons the intersections of vanity, fame, and the human desire for immortality with deliciously bloody glee. Fargeat masterfully deploys elements of body horror with a psychological exploration of identity and self-image, making it a standout in a year of already exceptional genre fare.
-Charles Elmore