Rainbow Rowell once said, “Art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.” As I found myself leaving the film theatre of Winona, this phrase would resonate in my head while feeling completely sick and disoriented after watching “The Substance.” What is art if not something that will evoke emotion in the audience, and this film has done that to the highest degree possible.
“The Substance,” directed by Coralie Fargeat, follows the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a celebrity in her 50s, and the direct criticism she receives about her body and looks as she loses the youthful look so loved by the general audience. That is where the substance appears, a type of drug that she gets to revive her young years. The instructions are simple: 7 days you live in your original body, known as the matrix, and 7 days you can go into your other body, known as the other self.
This is where the character Sue appears, a young and perfect woman fulfilling the canonical beauty standard, being able to climb the stairs of fame to become even bigger than what Elisabeth ever was. This makes a huge difference between our main characters, with Elisabeth getting jealous and depressed every time she goes back to her body, seeing herself as disgusting and worthless, depriving herself of any happiness and hiding herself from everyone. While Sue sees Elisabeth with disgust, almost as if she did not come from her and looks at her as a pathetic human for her age/looks.
The movie features aggressive camera movements, and erratic editing with high-paced changes between scenes making the audience nervous and anxious at whatever was coming next. Close-up shots were also used extremely often and even used as a tool to showcase the wrinkles and emphasize the “disgusting” aspect in many of the characters and scenes. Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley do an amazing job of giving their all in this bizarre film, and if it weren’t for them, it would not have been as incredible in the eyes of many.
Another technical aspect it excels at is the cinematography, and how shots are composed. The rooms and scenarios the film takes place in are constructed amazingly, and mirror the scenes perfectly, especially in Elisabeth’s house where most of the film takes place. We see the almost sickly bathroom, covered in full black and white with a futuristic look to it, covered in blood and being the place of the most disgusting acts. This is another way in which the film plays with its areas and themes, making a quick distinction between the “cleanliness” of being a celebrity. These shots can be taken in parallel with the way in which beauty standards are pushed to another level.
Themes of aging and beauty standards are clear in the film, and even plays with the expected “male gaze” that you can see in many of the media nowadays. Director Fargeat seems to be making a mockery of this gaze, especially considering the second and third act, where body-horror goes completely insane and starts resembling the infamous “Tusk” film, mixed with “Black Swan”. On the third act, we find ourselves in one of the bloodiest scenes of all film, as well as one of the nastier looking creatures created in all the movies I have seen. It goes into a crazy gore-filled rampage where the screen is filled with blood and even to the strongest of audience, make them squeal in disgust.
It is not a movie for everyone, and I would not recommend it openly to most people, but if you have the stomach and the mental strength to get through it, you’ll find an excellent satirical body-horror, on the way to becoming a classic for future years to come.
“The Substance” is available on most film theaters all around the United States.
