The Substance

A Review

Margaret Qualley as Sue

CONTAINS SPOILERS

The Substance (2024)

Directed by Coralie Fargeat

After watching a trailer that gave away absolutely nothing, and reading that there had been disgusted walkouts at screenings, I was of course intrigued by the prospect of this film.

Brave was the first word that popped into my head, not so much in respect of the plot, clever though it was, but the lead actresses, Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley literally gave it their all .. full frontal lingering nudity, but it served the tale and made the points the director wanted to make with her story. Points about ageism, misogyny and self loathing.

A fountain of youth tale. Elisabeth Sparkle(Moore) had been dealt a cruel blow on her 50th Birthday, after decades at the top of her game a tv health and aerobics coach, she was fired by her gross boss Harvey ( played to utter stomach churning perfection by Dennis Quaid, responsible for one of the two scenes I wanted the look away from, seafood. specifically prawns anyone?) ) Before the hammer fell, she overheard him discussing her in the foulest terms)

Elisabeth is so distressed by this she has a car accident on the way home. She’s Ok physically, but she is broken ..heartbroken. A nurse slips her a note with a thumb drive. The contents of this drive offer her an intriguing option, she can be a better version of herself, or more accurately can generate a better version but she must share her time with this version. 7 days as she is now and 7 days out in the world as her new version. They are One. After initial doubts, she decides to go for it.

Brave indeed, or foolish as she picks up a package from a seedy part of town. She embarks on the program with a distinct lack of instruction, but the important parts are there, you. must switch every 7 days without exception.

There follows an amazing scene where a soft skinned bright eyed girl in her twenties emerges from Elizabeth’s spilt back, she looked down on the prone figure she emerges from then looks in the mirror, loving what she sees.

Inevitably this girl, Sue, finds her way to Harvey and his judgy cronies and wows them. She takes up her post as a replacement for Elizabeth in a sexed up version of aerobics called Pump It Up with Sue, subtle eh? There are quite a few ironic chuckles in this film, even some laugh out loud moments.

The 7 days swap works at first, but as you knew it would, the wheels start to come off,although they are supposed to be “one”. Sue is an ambitious creature riding the crest of a wave of popularity and just having much too much fun, she bends the rules, after all what is Elisabeth doing with her 7 days? Watching daytime tv and eating too much? Sue is late back to her swap, which is dangerous for her too, however her overindulgence shows. first in Elisabeth.. she begins to age far more rapidly than she would have if she had never embarked in the substance program.

There follows a repetition of the rotating fortnight as both women begin to unravel as they both play fast and loose with the rules with the inevitable deterioration of both, more moral than physical in Sue’s case at least at first.

It culminates in the second scene I might have wanted to look away from, Sue is suffering from a lack of sustenance from Elisabeth, having drained her totally, she launches a ferocious attack on her, a brutal bloody bashing, that would have killed anyone else. And finally does kill Elisabeth. All this happened on the very evening that Sue had the biggest job of her life. It was at this point I felt the film could have ended. Or at least had a different ending. By that stage I think we’d got it. Older women thrown on the scrap heap because they no longer measure up in the male gaze, or their own gaze for that matter, look at the multimillion dollar anti aging and cosmetic surgery industry. Harking back to an earlier scene where an overweight woman quietly cleaned in the background of the. apartment of the then still youthful Elisabeth, I thought that woman just gets on with her life. She will never have what Elisabeth has and isn’t content with. Yet the cleaning woman is glad to have a job and a life probably.

Is it a message, a cautionary tale, about being careful what you wish for and above all being grateful for what you have?

At any rate the big ending made the film overlong and it was. also overwrought. A monster emerging from a frantic Sue who committed her most serious breach of the rules. I can think of endings I’d rather have seen. There was even that old classic of an exploding head … only this one regrew. I’d have preferred this comedy horror romp to retain a shock value conclusion. rather than comedy bloodshed.

In sum an excellently acted, darkly comedic modern cautionary tale with an annoying ending. An ending with more blood sloshing about than could ever be found in the most monstrous body.

4 1/2 stars