With “The Substance,” director Coralie Fargeat does something genre classicists John Carpenter and David Cronenberg would never allow — let the special effects overwhelm the story and lessen its impact. That’s a shame, as “The Substance” has a great deal to say about sexism in the entertainment industry — and by extension, society — as well as the self-loathing it breeds in the women who fall victim to it. When it’s addressing these issues head on, it’s firing on all cylinders and is driven by a fierce performance from Demi Moore, who’s obviously drawing on her own experiences dealing with the vagaries of Hollywood and its attitude of dispensability where actresses are concerned.
Fargeat’s agenda is obvious yet expressed pointedly with a liberal dose of dark humor. Ultimately, things spin wildly out of control during a seemingly never-ending climax that proves redundant and unnecessary. Former actress Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore) has parlayed her fame and fortune into a second career as a fitness instructor, her syndicated exercise show seen by millions each day.
Or at least, that’s how it once was. With her ratings in decline, the show’s producer, Harvey (Dennis Quaid), unceremoniously dumps her and begins searching for a younger replacement. Soon after, Sparkle is involved in a car accident that sends her to the hospital where she crosses paths with a nurse who gives her a phone number, stating she’s a good candidate for a program that will change her life.
Desperate, she makes a call that will have dire consequences. After making a visit to a wonderfully sketchy Los Angeles back alley, she’s given a regime of injections and dietary supplements that will supposedly allow her to regain her youth. The result is a hybrid of “Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” as ingesting the mysterious substance results in a Faustian bargain. Generated from her own cellular matrix, a younger version of Sparkle appears in the form of Sue (Margaret Qualley), who’s everything she once was.
She’s able to walk about for seven days while the older version lies in stasis. Then, it’s necessary that they change places for the same amount of time. This one week on, one week off situation allows Sue to get Sparkle’s old job and become an overnight sensation.
However, the toll this ultimately takes on her host proves tragic. The body horror that ensues occurs gradually, yet as the parasitic nature of the relationship increases, Sparkle’s appearance becomes increasingly grotesque. However, what’s most intriguing is the effect on her psyche.
Each time she looks in the mirror, her insecurities grow, Moore digging deep during these moments, the pain in her eyes increasing with each successive scene. During a sequence in which, while preparing for a date, she repeatedly redoes her make-up and changes her outfit, the actress becomes more and more frantic. Sparkle is incapable of seeing how beautiful she truly is, magnifying every small flaw in her mind, overlooking each of her assets.
It’s a remarkable moment, one that was likely cathartic for the actress. “The Substance” is a movie of extremes and is obvious to a fault. Quaid’s performance is intended to be over-the-top and, to be sure, he delivers.
Meanwhile, the role of Sue is underwritten, which is the point. She’s nothing more than an object, a role she embraces for the validation she seeks, and if nothing else, Qualley tackles the part with enthusiasm and a twinkle in her eye. In putting the notion of the male gaze under the microscope, Fargeat exposes those who would perpetuate it for the chauvinistic monsters they are.
(It’s no coincidence Quaid’s character shares the same first name as a notorious former Hollywood executive and convicted sex offender whose scandal launched the #MeToo movement). Yet the more vital point is looking at the result on those it is continually used upon. The ultimate outcome of the Sparkle/Sue experiment is the personification of the self-loathing so many women fall victim to.
Once her true self is revealed, it’s a horrific, poignant moment, a brilliant culmination of the director’s theme. Thankfully, it and all that has led up to it is enough to negate the unfortunate extremes Fargeat resorts to in the film’s final 20 minutes. ‘The Substance’ ★★★ Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Hugo Diego Garcia, Oscar Lesage, Joseph Balderrama, Gore Abrams and Matthew Geczy.
Directed and written by Coralie Fargeat; produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Fargeat. A Mubi Films release. Rated R (bloody violent content, gore, nudity and language).
140 minutes. At the AMC Champaign 13 and Savoy 16 IMAX..
