Billed as the feminist horror story of the year, The Substance ended up being the biggest letdown. Whatever message it was trying to convey is quickly lost as the film becomes what it is preaching against.
The Substance Review
Let me start by saying I wanted to like this movie. When I first read about the premise and watched the cryptic trailers I was intrigued. It's a bonkers body horror thriller tackling how society demands women not age featuring a beautiful Demi Moore as a Hollywood star pushed out of her job in favor of someone younger and hotter. Not to mention it was filmed mostly without the use of CGI which meant the gore would be visceral. Okay, I'm in. Then reviews started coming out of Cannes and they were split down the middle. It seemed like this one would be a love it or hate it with zero middle ground. I thought I knew what side I would be on but turns out I was wrong.
Billed as the feminist horror film of the year, The Substance does little to promote feminism beyond its surface. Rather than boldly making a statement about women's bodies and our right to age, it instead fallbacks on old tropes of hag-horror/beauty-gone-wrong. In fact it veers so far away from its supposed message it becomes the thing it was preaching against. It's even more insane to think that this movie was not directed by a man, as the gaze (and pervertedness of the camera angles) clearly have men in mind. This is a movie made by a woman, director Coralie Fargeat, about women's lives, issues, and sexism, that ends up resonating mostly with men. Then the last 20 minutes hit and it becomes something else entirely. Not scary, just over-the-top absurd as if Fargeat was attempting to throw everything at the wall (sometimes literally) to see what would stick.
Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore) is the famous host of an aerobics show. Once a Hollywood darling, she learns that she is about to be fired by her boss, the obviously named Harvey (Dennis Quaid), in favor of finding someone younger and hotter to take her place. Instead of taking a breather (or even a vacation) the health conscious Elisabeth decides to forgo all that and inject herself with “the substance.” This creates a fully grown copy(ish) of herself. The catch is that only one of them can be conscious at a time. Every 7 days, Elisabeth and her youthful counterpart Sue (Margaret Qualley) must switch places. At first everything seems more or less fine. Sue becomes the new fitness instructor much to the joy of the creep Harvey and skyrockets to lycra infamy. Elisabeth on the other hand begins to struggle with a lost sense of self. Soon, the two begin to resent each other and when the schedule isn't followed there are dire consequences.
What I will say is that aside from the ogling camerawork, the rest of the cinematography (led by Benjamin Kracun) was well done. Moore is first captured in the bright lights but slowly relegated to darkness as she is pushed out of her own life. Qualley is also filmed as if in a spotlight, this is about her (in her eyes) after all. Quaid is a greasy human being to begin with and he plays one in this film. The fish-eye lenses really drive home that this man is disgusting as are the other men who stand around to leer at the women in this film. When the body horror takes center stage the camera ebbs and flows with it, zooming in and going wide to truly capture the sheer grotesqueness of it all. Equally impressive is the sound design. I don't think I've ever heard squelching and splattering quite like this before. I can hear it now just thinking about it.
As far as acting goes, Moore gives a career best performance with one particular scene, where she is trying to get ready for a date with an old high school classmate, standing out. In fact, if less time had been spent sweeping over sweaty bodies twerking, Moore could have done even more to give depth and soul to this film. She is also the only character really given an arc. Despite not enjoying the overall movie, I do think she deserves credit for her part in it and I hope the Academy takes note.
Verdict
The Substance's message is buried far below the unnecessary objectification of its lead female cast. I have never walked out of a film so frustrated, disappointed, and at a real loss for words. What could have been a ruthlessly gory and pointed story about what women face as they just try to exist becomes a muddy mess that looks more like a postcard for misogyny rather than a champion for feminism.
Watch The Substance Review
The Substance in theaters now. It is rated R for strong bloody violent content, gore, graphic nudity and language with a runtime of 2 hours and 21 minutes.
