"The Substance" - Good luck predicting the ending to this one.

Josh
Nov 13, 2024
5 min read

Coralie Fargeat (2024)

Just watch it already

There are some movies that come around every few years that leave me with my mouth smiling agape as I’m mesmerised by what I’m watching on the screen. Movies like Robert Egger’s The Lighthouse, Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, George Miller’s Fury Road, and Damien Chazelle's Whiplash. And now to add to that list is Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance. And the one thing all these movies have in common is that you can feel the person behind the camera. You can truly feel that every choice made was for a specific reason, every cut, every sound, every prop and every zoom was done to align with their creative vision. The fact a movie that tackles a genre that has more or less left the mainstream since David Cronenberg’s earlier movies, body horror, and twists it with a witty satirical stunning look at beauty standards and the evolution of sex appeal in Hollywood has done as well as this has (especially with the rapid word of mouth) makes me so happy. I will be touching on spoilers in this review and I would like everyone to go into this movie blind for the best experience. So before getting into that, I would wholeheartedly recommend this movie. Currently, it’s sitting as my favourite movie of the year and I cannot wait to pick it up on Blu-ray and watch it again, especially with other people. So go out, see this on a Friday night with a packed theatre, take Grandma with you and enjoy this amazing film.

As mentioned, this wonderful script is a satirical look at the expectations around beauty standards, especially with women and their purpose in the entertainment industry to act as a sex symbol. Pimping out their bodies and ideal physique to the male gaze in exchange for higher ratings and a job. The wonderfully extraordinary Demi Moore plays Elizabeth Sparkle a character reminiscent of Micheal Keaton’s in Birdman. A character that’s past their prime who is staying within relevance from the success of their past selves with a meta element involving the lead actor. Elizabeth Sparkle, a has-been Oscar-winning actress is running a stale celebrity workout morning show, (One that is extremely accurate to the pathetic celebrity training direct to video tapes from the 80s, on a set with white curtains, wood floor and ferns in the corner) is fired from her show in hopes to hire a younger, hotter, modern host that will refresh the show. Her producer, Harvey (No comment) played by Dennis Quaid, is presented as a disgusting sleazy man who doesn’t see people as people but as a means to an end based on charts and numbers. This humanoid monster is emphasised in an amazing scene watching Harvey simply eating shrimp while he lets Sparkle go.

The sound design as he rips, chomps and dips the shrimp, mixed with close-ups of his face with wide lenses is so disgusting and sickening. It perfectly contrasts against the expectations he’s firing Sparkle for as we see his imperfections in all their detail. Sparkle gets exposed to The Substance, a mysterious and intriguing medicine presented with all the intensity and flashiness of a modern Apple product. Like any good horror movie, it has clear and specific rules for using the Substance, reminding me of the rules around Gremlins. One week as you, one week as the ideal you, with small steps along the way to keep them alive. But you are one. You are the Other. And the Other is you. Once used, Sparkle gives spinal birth to her ideal self, Sue, played by the memorising Margaret Qualley, where the battle of self-identity, need for validation and self-worth begins.

Despite the 2.5-hour runtime, I never felt bored watching the back-and-forth between Sue and Sparkle, each persona trying to one-up the other to take back control. And it all crescendos in an ending that just doesn’t stop and just when you think it peaks, it turns into an early Peter Jackson movie with amazing practical effects and keeps going. That required such a strong physical performance from Moore and it 100% worked for me. But the build-up to this moment is so satisfying, surrounded by so much intention and purpose. Every shot feels purposeful with strong re-incorporation, clever call-backs and plenty of visual motifs. Like a real movie. After Sparkle has been belittled the camera follows her in public with a wide lens but as a close-up from behind as she hides from her distorted surroundings in a jacket and sunnies. In contrast with Sue, where that wide lens is used to show everyone around her, glancing looks her way as she walks with confidence and openness. All set in a vibrant world that does feel pretty vengeful towards LA. The opening has a great piece of visual storytelling showing the downfall of the City of Angles with just a static shot of Sparkle’s Hollywood star. As generations pass to the modern day of ugly sounds and disrespect from the residents. Or the location of the Substance is in a disgusting alleyway with a door that doesn’t even open all the way and turns into a sterile white minimalist modern room. A blank room and free of any imperfections. The starkness carries into Sparkle's most vulnerable location the bathroom, where the white tiles act as the birthplace of the pure perfect self. As well, hallways are recurring visuals, as we peer into her bathroom from a hallway. Or seeing the history of Sparkle in the form of posters in a vibrant hallway, only to be replaced with an empty hallway with a few posters of Sue. Setting up the hallway open for Sue’s future to then just be replaced with a new model when the posters hit the end.

A few little things are stopping me from considering this film as perfect. There are moments throughout the movie there are a few times where they pull a cheesy visual to remind you of previous scenes that weren’t subtle to begin with. The movie did so well setting up stuff without hitting the audience over the head but for some reason, the movie felt the need to remind the audience of a few moments. And they were pretty obvious moments, so it was a little discouraging to be reminded of them so blatantly. And as I’ve been highlighting how good the special effects are, there are a couple of CG moments that stood out amongst the amazing practical effects. Including a moment where you can see an explosive that triggers an explosion on a character. It felt like something you would see in a cheap horror movie that doesn’t exactly know where to put the camera to hide an effect like that. Very minor visual distraction because in a split second, I was amazed at the practical pool of blood and offal. Even then, I don’t know if these will bother me as much on a second watch but I won’t know until that happens. And these are nitpicks, like judging brush strokes on The Last Supper.

I cannot recommend this film enough. As soon as you can, go watch this in a cinema full of people. I am still genuinely shocked that this got such a wide release as it did. The Substance manages to balance purposeful satire and wit with horrific B-movie schlock. The movie knows exactly what it is and if you hadn’t walked out of the theatre after the hour-and-a-half mark you’d be grinning ear to ear until the end. I’m excited to watch Coralie Fargeat’s earlier work, Revenge, and I hope this movie gets the recognition it deserves from the Oscars so more people step out and give it a watch. Enough said, just go see it.