‘There’s been a slight misuse of the Substance...’
When I go to the movies I want to see something real. Something that is really up there on screen. Clearly, mainstream audiences don’t share this view. If they did, we wouldn’t have five different comic book adaptations every summer. I’m not saying there isn’t a place for CGI. I am saying, however, that CGI should complement what is already there – it shouldn’t replace it. The Substance is a perfect example of this. While there is much more to this film than just the practical effects, there is also no denying their visceral power. To see something utterly grotesque on screen and to know it exists in the same world that we inhabit is a rare thrill indeed…
After turning 50, faded Hollywood star Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) discovers that she is going to be axed from her long-running aerobics show at the behest of her disgusting boss Harvey (Dennis Quaid). Upon learning about an experimental new drug that makes you young again, Elizabeth suffers a mental and physical split as her new, younger, more attractive self (Sue – played by Margaret Qualley) emerges butterfly-like and takes over both of their lives.
While there are shades of everything from The Picture of Dorian Gray to Severance to Society by way of David Kronenberg and the apocryphal tale of Edward Mordrake, The Substance is very much its own thing. Starkly feminist but in a way that is more a tortured howl of anguish than didactic sloganeering, The Substance provides the canvas for Moore and Qualley to deliver a pair of career-best performances. While calling this film autobiographical would be both erroneous and unkind, surely Moore has drawn from her own experiences of being cast aside by Hollywood once her youth slipped away and her journey from accepting the role to Oscar nomination is at least as inspiring and triumphant as Brendan Fraser’s similarly unlikely comeback in The Whale.
Moore is stunning here it has to be said. Her grief at losing her looks and her body is palpable, to the point where some scenes are genuinely uncomfortable to sit through. Qualley, an actor who surely has an Oscar nomination in her own future, is just as compelling in a layered and nuanced role that requires her to function as Elizabeth’s neuroses and also as her own entity. It’s a tough balancing act that echoes director Coralie Fargeat’s battle with ensuring that wild tonal shifts that take place throughout don’t come at the expense of the overall quality of the film.
The Substance is the first horror movie since 2017’s Get Out to be nominated for Best Picture and it once again proves that if you want innovation in modern-day cinema then the horror genre is pretty much the only place you will find it – an instant classic.
