Humans can be very superficial. We tend to obsess over beauty and youth. Consumers spend billions of dollars a year on creams and medical procedures to reduce wrinkles. They inject fillers into their faces and they get fat sucked out of their stomachs just to be judged by those around them. They are always looking for the latest trend to keep their bodies and faces pretty and young. But what if there was a way to rejuvenate all of yourself at once? What if you could replicate your cells to create a younger, more beautiful version of yourself? Would you try it? For aging actress Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore; Ghost), The Substance seemed like the perfect solution...until it wasn't.
Sparkle, once the darling of Hollywood, is now a middle-aged woman who has an aerobic exercise show on television, complete with the leotard and leg warmers (think 1980s Jane Fonda exercise videos). As Sparkle is about to turn 50 she overhears the television executive on the phone saying that she needs to be replaced by someone younger. Despondent and inconsolable, Sparkle becomes desperate and decides to try a black market product known only as "the substance". After making a phone call, Sparkle finds herself with a box of equipment and gross-looking bags full of weird solutions.
The concept is fairly simple. Sparkle injects herself once, her cells multiple creating a younger version of her, and every seven days the ladies must switch. However, when "Sue" (Margaret Qualley; Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) becomes "greedy" and refuses to switch back after seven days, the consequences become dire for Sparkle. In the end, the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for" rings true for both Sparkle and Sue.
Moore and Qualley are excellent as essentially two halves of a whole and command the screen each second they are on it. Moore is brilliant as the "old guard" and she plays her part perfectly, so much so that I could easily see her being nominated for an Oscar for this role. Both women boldly bare all for this film and for a 61 year old, female in Hollywood that takes courage. Luckily, Moore looks amazing. Dennis Quaid (Reagan) plays the slimy, overaged, television executive who reeks of predatory, power-trip masculinity. The rest of the cast is simply filler and make no real impact in either a good or a bad way.
Writer/Director Coralie Fargeat (Revenge) does a wonderful job creating the transitions between the two women and keeps the pace moving for most of the 2hour and 20 minute run time. She showcases the body horror elements delicately and with care, making them seem less about the physical transformation and more about a symbolic gesture of "rebirth". While some of the grotesque moments are truly disgusting, she tries to make their presence as painless as possible. However, audiences should be aware that they are, in fact, watching a drama with horror elements.
If I have any complaints about The Substance it would have to be the last 15- 20 minutes of the film. Not only does it make the movie too long but it takes it from a serious drama and a commentary on ageism in show business to a tongue in cheek parody of a horror film reminiscent of "The Shunting" in the 1989 movie Society. Up until that point in the film it was interesting, engaging and offered an emotional element that many body horror movies do not. Twenty minutes shorter and this movie would have gotten a A- rating from me but the end ruined it, for me at least. Some others thought the last 20 minutes were the best part. To each his own.
Grade: B+
