The Substance | TIFF 2024 | Review by: Amanda Guarragi
There are moments in women’s lives that change their perception of beauty. When they are younger, the idealized beauty standards are subtle as women are conditioned by society through the representation of female bodies in media. It doesn’t affect young girls until they hit adolescence, and they are taught that you're not as appealing once you hit a certain age. Watching celebrities go through this tenfold because of the tabloids and social media has turned aging into the worst thing imaginable.
There have been body comparison photos and rude commentary about middle-aged women’s faces. Sadly, celebrities can’t get away from people discussing their bodies.
It’s sad to see some actresses over fifty not get the same opportunities as they used to when they were younger. Ageism in Hollywood has possibly been the most toxic because of the age range in which actresses have difficulty finding roles. Sure, there are fresh faces that enter the mix, but older actresses who have paved pathways for them shouldn’t be cast aside because of how they look.
In The Substance, Coralie Fargeat depicts the deconstruction of beauty standards through a fading celebrity named Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore). The film explores ageism through the eyes of the media and the self-loathing women can go through. Elisabeth has made a career of boosting women’s confidence as a pilates instructor. In the two decades she has been working, the market of her brand has changed. The choreography is different; it is more sexual and appealing to the male gaze rather than to women maintaining their healthy lifestyle. Elisabeth’s boss, Harvey (Dennis Quaid), notices the viewership declining and wants to replace Elisabeth with someone younger.
For someone who has made a living uplifting women, it’s devastating to hear from a man that there will be a replacement. Elisabeth is beside herself, desperate to keep her youth from when she first started. Fargeat has Moore analyze herself in the mirror throughout the film, and each time, it becomes more self-destructive for the sake of beauty. There’s a craving for her younger self that won’t return by the flip of a switch.
Until Elisabeth is introduced to “the substance.”
It is a black-market drug consisting of a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of yourself. Isn’t it enticing? To be able to return to a version of you that isn’t frowned upon by society. To live what is considered the best years of your life once again for the sake of being appealing once again to the world. The fact that this is even a small thought in Elisabeth’s head is despairing.
Fargeat places the audience in Elisabeth’s shoes effortlessly as we begin to think taking “the substance” is a great idea. Moore’s performance is captivating and conveys so much power through her emotional breaks. After taking “the substance,” Elisabeth is split in two with her counterpart, Sue (Margaret Qualley). The body horror in The Substance is grotesque, and so well-executed that it does more than shock viewers. While Fargeat transforms these women’s bodies through “the substance,” there’s also an appreciation for women’s bodies. Moore and Qualley bare all. To have their characters work so seamlessly side by side, striving for the same acceptance by society, was incredible to watch.
The film is a feast for the senses. The vibrant colours for the production design, the impeccable sound design and the score all work cohesively to shock your system. It feels almost like a dreamlike world with Elisabeth at the beginning and quickly shifts that to Sue once she takes form. The bubblegum pinks and yellows for Sue contrast Elisabeth’s dark reds and steely navy blues to show the bleak reality of aging in this world. The femininity of the colours is altered by how jaded women become once they get older.
The third act is where Elisabeth spirals out of control as Sue becomes unhinged with her abuse of “the substance.” In this final act, Moore shows audiences what she has been capable of her entire career. The madness that Elisabeth goes through for the sake of beauty and the anger she expresses after her agency is fully stripped from her is heartbreaking. For example, Moore puts makeup on and constantly reworks her face because she hates what she sees.
Fargeat shows the destruction of beauty standards and obtaining a look that is no longer achievable. When looking at this optimistically, it can be perceived that older women can accept their beauty has changed and not faded. Women go through so much self-hatred because of what’s idealized in society by men specifically, and sometimes, they destroy the best parts of themselves to become a different person entirely.
Fargeat channels the likes of De Palma, Kubrick and Cronenberg on all fronts with stylized horror while making it entirely her own. The Substance is one of the best body horrors we’ve had in years, and Fargeat reclaims the woman’s body in the sub-genre after women’s bodies have been mistreated in the past on-screen.
The film is a necessity for women to watch because it explores the full spectrum of womanhood and the range of pain women endure over and over. The full transformation Demi Moore goes through by the film's end is the most shocking aspect because she goes all out. It’s unlike anything she has done and a testament to her talent. All she needed was someone to believe that she could do something as bold and daring as this.
4.5/5
Review by: Amanda Guarragi
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