The Substance
Director: Coralie Fargeat
Writer: Coralie Fargeat
Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Edward Hamilton-Clark, Gore Abrams, Oscar Lesage, Christian Erickson, Robin Greer
Seen on: 19.9.2024
Part of: SLASH Filmfestival

Plot:
Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) was a star, and she still does rather well in her own fitness program. But with her 50th birthday approaching, her producer Harvey (Dennis Quaid) is giving her the boot and starts looking for a younger replacement. Elisabeth falls into a hole. But a cryptic message handed to her promises the solution to all of her problems: the Substance creates a better, younger version of herself (Margaret Qualley).

I had my issues with Fargeat’s first feature Revenge, but I was excited for this film nevertheless – Fargeat showed more than enough promise in Revenge to warrant this. And The Substance absolutely delivered. It is a well made, exciting and beautifully acted film that will burn some images into your brain forever.

The Substance has a confident style in pretty much everything. The set design, the cosumes, the lighting, that goddamn orange hallway, but above all the soundtrack and the soundscape make this film into an experience that is comfortable inhabiting its space and making bold choices. The pitch-perfect camera work captures everything meticulously, knowing when to close in and when to stay away, and even when to have a sense of humor.

The film lives and breathes with Moore’s performance that should have her winning all the awards. I don’t know if she was ever allowed to tackle a role with as much gusto as this one, certainly not in recent times, and it is glorious. Qualley is absolutely fantastic, too, and Quaid embodies the disgusting misogyny of his character (with him, the camera work is particularly outstanding, too) in one of the best parodies I have ever seen that still made me shiver.

The story is good and the way the Substance works novel, though the subject it tackles isn’t new and it might not have that much new to say about it. But since it is still a topic we struggle with socially, I can’t fault it for once again taking a look at it.

The film’s weakest point, for me, was the ending. While I am loath to say to and about women that they should tone things down a little, the blood bath at the end could have done with being a little less. Maybe 8 minutes instead of 10 would have done the trick. But given how much I struggled with Revenge, sometimes in the same way as with the showdown here, I can only credit Fargeat with her growth as a filmmaker. And generally say that the film is absolutely awesome.

Summarizing: amazing.