It is a feat to make a seasoned film audience gasp in shock and awe, but French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat does just that with her body horror ode to feminism and beauty, The Substance. The film kicks off this year’s Midnight Madness programme on September 5 where it is sure to be a bloody good time.
Demi Moore delivers a career-best performance as Elisabeth Sparkle, a TV aerobics queen who is unceremoniously tossed to the curb on her 50th birthday. No longer fresh-faced in the eyes of her shallow TV exec boss, Harvey (Dennis Quaid), Elisabeth confronts her fate as an aging Hollywood star. A one-time Academy Award winning actor who fears her youthfulness and beauty fading, she hears about an experimental black market beauty procedure that promises to put her in touch with her younger – and therefore better – self. It inspires her to take a bold leap into the unknown.
Through a series of clandestine phone calls and back alley deliveries, Elisabeth births a newer and fresher version of herself, Sue (Margaret Qualley). Bound for superstardom, the plucky and perky young clone has ambitions of fame and super stardom that far outweigh Elisabeth’s fading career. But alas, there is a catch: Elisabeth and Sue cannot co-exist at the same time and must follow a strict body-sharing regimen lest complications arise.
One might imagine where Fargeat’s screenplay (a prizewinner at Cannes) is headed, but rest assured, there are surprises in store that will surprise even the most dedicated horror lovers and Cronenberg aficionados.
Moore and Qualley are incredible in their dual roles, forming a complex symbiotic relationship that allows both stars to shine. At age 61, Moore has never looked better on screen, nor has she been given this juicy of a role in her career. She is a perfect 10 here, giving a physically and emotionally transformative performance in Elisabeth’s pursuit of youth and beauty. It’s a welcome return for a star who has been largely absent from the screen in recent years.
Fargeat films her actors in tight close-ups, the stunning looks of the women in full display. Here, like in her previous film Revenge, the female gaze is given power. The gratuitous shots of nudity and female anatomy are subverted under Fargeat’s guidance. They aren’t for the pleasure of men like Harvey who are filmed in unflattering and grotesque slobbering close-ups, but as part of knowing control, especially when it comes to showcasing Sue’s assets. Rest assured, no one will accuse Fargeat or The Substance of being subtle. The film provocatively comments on the impossible beauty standards we hold women to, and that women hold themselves to, juxtaposed with the double standards that men can and do get away with. This is a feminist masterpiece that will engage and excite viewers.
Of course, this is also a body horror and Fargeat doesn’t hold back on the blood and gore. Horror fans will delight in the gross-out moments and marvel at the phenomenal makeup and prosthetic work The Substance utilizes. The Cronenberg influences are obvious, be it Rabid or The Fly, but Fargeat fully embraces her own creativity and imagination to deliver something truly one-of-a-kind. An expressionist vision composed of high angle and overhead shots, vivid colours, and stunning set design, Fargeat’s film is as beautiful as it is grotesque.
It is best to go into The Substance blind, knowing little more than an outline of what to expect.
