The Substance guts the truth of Hollywood perfection from the inside out. In a vibrantly harsh tone, Coralie Fargeat’s film gruesomely portrays the modern playground of technology where one can “alleviate” body dysmorphia. While alluding to cosmetic operations, the film takes a gnarly turn, showing that while the standard can be met, the true self is corrupted in this effort, and in this film takes the form of a revolting monster.
The Substance follows Elizabeth Sparkle, played by Demi Moore, who is a Hollywood TV star with her own hit jazzercise show. At age 50, Elizabeth retires from the show, after reaching a supposedly “unattractive age”, as claimed by her manager. Elizabeth feels dejected and hopeless, she receives a mail advertisement for “the substance”, a product that when injected, will create another person. The other person, split from your spine, will be you but “younger, more beautiful, more perfect”. Giving into her desperation, Elizabeth, goes down the seediest alleyway of Los Angeles in a bright yellow coat and picks up a vial of green substance and feeding kits. After injecting the liquid into her spine, Margaret Qualley emerges as “Sue”. Sue naturally claims Elizabeth’s TV role and becomes a sensation. Every 7 days the two switch off, “the substance” continually reminding Elizabeth and Sue that they are one, and that they must share equal time.
As Sue/Elizabeth becomes more acquainted with living as the younger, more beautiful, more perfect version of herself, she drains her original self of life. The blips of time when Elizabeth comes back into control she resembles more of a monster than a retired superstar.
While Elizabeth grows resentment for how Sue is ruining her, rotting and deforming her body, Sue increasingly becomes disgusted with Elizabeth, spiteful of how she is shortening her time in the spotlight. As Sue grows repulsed, as viewers so do we. The cinematography censors nothing: creases across skin, frizz floating over heads of hair, lines on the sides of a mouth, and eventually, ravenous hunger that creates filthy plates across an apartment’s floor. Themes of envy are somewhat reminiscent of Rapunzel and Mother Gothel. In Tangled, Mother Gothel drains Rapunzel of her beauty and youth to do so; she’s kept locked up in a tower. While more abstract, that is essentially what is at play in The Substance, when either version switches off they drain the other of life to sustain themself. Though not in a tower, the inactive body rests in the hollow of her apartment’s walls, surviving off of a feeding IV. While these themes are depressive, the EDM-style soundtrack invigorates the pulse of the movie, and the tempo never stops. This sensational movie has prompted national walkouts due to the intolerance of the body horror present in the movie. Test how much you can handle and see it in theaters now, during Halloween season.