Coralie Fargeat directed "The Substance," which was released on September 20. The film starred Demi Moore as Elisabeth, Margaret Qualley as Sue, and Dennis Quaid as Harvey. It is filled with intense and gory elements that can disgust the audience. This movie is for a mature audience only.
This film is about Elisabeth Sparkles, a famous actress who is beautiful but quickly becomes forgotten as she ages. She is struggling with accepting the fact that her age is destroying her career, and her self-esteem quickly deteriorates. All she wants is to become a young beautiful actress again. Elisabeth soon finds out about a drug on the black market. The substance gives her the chance to become young again.
Highs
The film had minimal highs, considering how gory it is. The highs revolved around Demi Moore's acting; she plays Elisabeth perfectly, showing all her struggles and insecurities. The amount of pain Elisabeth experiences because of her agent Harvey, she feels destroyed by him. This was a vital role for Moore, considering her last movie film was in 2022.
Qualley's acting was another highlight because she played a perfect "It Girl" who wanted to take over Elisabeth's life. She shows how selfish Sue is and will do everything to achieve what she wants.
Another high was the impressive CGI effects, which were graphic and intense. The part that was explicitly graphic was how Elisabeth became young after taking the substance. The backstory of Elisabeth was another high because of how hard she worked to become the most iconic woman on television at the time.
Lows
"The Substance" had many lows, considering how disturbing Elisabeth's transformation into a young woman was. The graphics were nauseating and took away from the plot. The experience of becoming young was confusing, especially because of the drugs Elisabeth purchased. She was not paying any money for these drugs; she would just pick them up, which was strange.
Another low was how women were portrayed as objects rather than human beings with feelings. All that mattered to Harvey was if Elisabeth was young and beautiful. This took away from the fact that women are more than just objects. At the same time, Harvey was misogynistic when it came to having hatred towards older women.
The amount of nudity in the film was a low as every single scene depicted nude women. Whether it was Elisabeth judging herself as an older woman with features of wrinkles or when Sue was praised for being naked since she was young and beautiful.
The plot is confusing as it surrounds a woman wanting to become young again. But throughout the film, Elisabeth soon realizes that this is not reality and that she is beautiful. However, she realizes this too late when things become out of her hands.
The film's ending was horrible because it showed Elisabeth as this horrifying creature, which became unrealistic. There was no happy ending; it became an obsession with being beautiful. If the film included a happy ending, it would have been worth the watch.
Verdict
"The Substance" is not worth the watch due to the explicit content, goriness, and how disturbing it is. The sexism in this film was not needed. It was missing multiple aspects from the plot and took away from the true meaning behind the film.
Rating: 2 out of 10
