(Image courtesy of IMDB. “Elizabeth struggles with her self-image, allowing the film to tell its body horror story.”)
Amy Lam
Connector Contributor
“The Substance” (2024) is a chilling horror film directed by Coralie Fargeat, starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Davis Quaid. This two hour and twenty-one minute film premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and received five Oscar nominations. A modern classic, unafraid to explore the horrors of aging in women leading into a self-destructive cycle to fit into a societal standard.
Elisabeth Sparkle, played by Demi Moore, in her youth gained attention for her 80s aerobic TV show. Now a middle-aged woman, her status fades away from the Hollywood scene. Her chauvinistic producer, Harvey, played by Davis Quaid, fires her by remarking that audiences need something new. She heads out driving back to her apartment when she becomes distracted by a billboard with an image of herself taken down causing a car crash. In the hospital, a young nurse recommended a black-market drug called “The Substance”. The drug creates a younger and better version of the person who takes the drug.
Taking the opportunity to get and inject the drug into her system, Sue, played by Margaret Qualley, was born. Sue applies to the studio that fired Elisabeth. Harvey accepted her with ease. She became a rising star in a more popular and sexualized version of Elisabeth’s previous 80s aerobic TV show. As the acts progressed, the greater the hatred for each other grew progressing into bloody fights. Sue neglects Elisabeth, assuming the host for three months. Due to overuse of the drug, Elisabeth’s body rapidly deteriorates. She blames Sue for her hunchback appearance ensuing a battle to end her. She fails to do so. Sue comes back to life. Upon realizing Elisabeth’s action, Sue engages in a violent tantrum resulting in Elisabeth’s death. This causes Sue’s body to decay. The movie reminds the audience time and time again that Elisabeth and Sue are the same person.
In an interview with Elle Magazine, “The Substance” was born from Fargeat’s own experience with her self-loathing as she aged. An experience familiar to many middle-aged women. Self-loathing is a vile cycle that repeats until one comes to terms with self-acceptance. From the initial screening, there were many comments related to gender on the film that Fargeat didn’t pick up on. Based on the comments, “The Substance” moved towards a feminist lens on societal rejection on aging women. Deep rooted in our society is misogyny as shown in certain scenes. There’s expectation for women to appear young and beautiful. They are also dictated by their behavior and actions. Fargeat said, the film expressed her own inner turmoil in a creative media.
She mentioned a significant part of filming was nudity. Nudity expresses two things: vulnerability and sexualization by public perception. Inside the bathroom in her home, Elisabeth doesn’t have a crowd to judge her appearance. Most of the time, she remains at home. The only person to judge her is herself. For Sue, she molds herself to fit the public’s ever-changing expectation with her sexualized dances. Fargeat said “I really want to express that when you’re a woman, your body is everything but neutral.” At the end of the interview, Fargeat states her ongoing journey for self-acceptance is challenging but also has improved her mental state.
Grade: B+
