Brutally fired on her 50th Birthday from her once successful televised aerobics show, Elisabeth Sparkle seizes the chance to revive her younger life through a body morphing black market drug known as the ‘Substance’.
Produced, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat, of her similarly styled though lesser-known films “Reality+” and the violent “Revenge”, “The Substance” is already the winner of the Palme d’Or for ‘Best Screenplay Award’ 2024 against the likes of “Kinds Of Kindness” and “Megalopolis”. Delivering a deep dive into the world of self-image and body dysmorphia with the devastating highs and indeed lows of fame and possible misfortune. Concentrating on the internal fight our ageing presents us with, creating our own mental monster.
Starring Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle, a once massively successful network fitness instructor living alone in her stylish yet empty apartment overlooking Los Angeles, with a gigantic billboard of herself staring back in. She has reached the next and possibly the largest milestone in life, to then be abruptly fired because of her age and declining viewing figures. So she seeks a way to make herself relevant and indeed wanted again. Cue the mysterious ‘Substance’, a drug that can bring back one’s youthful beauty through cell mutation but for strictly seven days at a time, and this is where the story really begins to fly.
Also starring a superb Margaret Qualley of recent “Drive Away Dolls”, as the seemingly body perfect twenty something and the next big thing as ‘Sue’, Elisabeth Sparkle’s younger and therefore more intoxicating alter ego. With an outlandish Dennis Quaid as network manager, who as an actor was brought in last minute in May 2022 to fill the brilliant maniacal shoes of Ray Liotta who sadly died suddenly of heart failure before the shoot.
Being billed as Demi Moore’s finest hour on screen, the story takes quite unexpected twists and turns as Sue is quite literally born unexpectedly and violently through Elisabeth’s body onto a spotless white tiled bathroom floor. The shots of early exposition and of transition are guttural and extremely effective knowing both entities are one and the same yet the need to keep their alter egos literally in the dark is where the fun really begins. Elisabeth’s apartment itself also plays a pivotal role, with the confining solitary kitchen, the lounge chair for one… but the curved hallway is the defining factor illustrating the ‘going around the bend’ from older to younger self.
“The Substance” is ultimately a stylish thought-provoking gory body horror film that deep dives into the mental and physical depths of self-loathing with the will to remain young and beautiful in a world of apparent visual perfection in Hollywood and beyond. From a brilliant premise, that on the whole works amazingly well, delivers certain moments that many will consider to the be over the top and visually unnecessary. It’s an overly long film which would have maybe worked better with a tighter, sharper storyline. That being said, “The Substance” will most definitely stand out as a high in 2024 with performances that are more visual using a purposeful lack of dialogue for increased engagement with the actor’s fight of ages rather than the script.
Moore’s performance is a tour de force of what can be achieved when inhibitions are left at the door for what is on the whole a performance that will remain in many a mind long after the colourful, yet visceral ending comes crashing in. With ‘the date’ mirror scene that took 45 takes, Demi has said it was surprisingly her hardest to do and overcome as she saw herself as the older actress despite actually looking much younger than her 61 years. With talks quite rightly of best actress next spring this is one to watch for the sheer monstrosity that is casting selection on the whole of women because of their age rather than professional experience in the industry.
Once in a while a film will strike a chord because of its story rather than its image, this delivers both in large primary-coloured Substantial spades.
Author: Piers, Maidstone Store
