THE SUBSTANCE (2024)
Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Hugo Diego Garcia, Phillip Schurer, Joseph Balderrama, Tom Morton, Robin Greer, Oscar Lesage, Alexandra Barton, Tiffany Hofstetter, Gore Abrams, Vincent Colombe, Robin Greer, Oscar Salem, Jordan Ford Silver, Jiselle Henderkott, Gregory Defleur and Tom Morton.
Screenplay by Coralie Fargeat.
Directed by Coralie Fargeat.
Distributed by Mubi. 140 minutes. Rated R.
Well, it started off well, that’s something, right? In fact, the body horror satire The Substance was actually kind of interesting for the first half of its running time, before spinning out irretrievably and becoming just absolutely fucking ridiculous.
Which is kind of a shame, because in a rare current leading role, Demi Moore actually is very brave and terrific in a rather complicated role here. She plays Elisabeth Sparkle (really???), an aging former actress who has now become a household name as the host of a popular daily aerobics show on TV. (By the way, in what strange alternate universe are there still popular daily aerobics shows on TV in the new millennium? Most people these days get their exercise shows online.)
It has an interesting concept – how people hit a certain age and lose their confidence and are willing to do just about anything to regain their youth and beauty.
On her fiftieth birthday, Elisabeth is unceremoniously fired from her show by her complete slimeball of a boss because she has gotten too old. Dennis Quaid chews scenery as the exec so insanely much that his performance is almost distracting, however Quaid is a good actor and I’m sure he was told to go so far over the top.
After a shoehorned in automobile accident (which really seems to only have happened to get Elisabeth into the hospital), a young and handsome orderly gives her a thumb drive which has information about “The Substance,” a mysterious serum which can make anyone younger and more beautiful. Of course, the information never quite explains exactly what The Substance is, how it works, or what kind of side effects it has. (And believe me, it has some serious side effects.)
However, Elisabeth is intrigued and gets a kit to give it a try. Even once she has decided to try it, the instructions are rather vague and honestly, even from the very start it seems to be much more of a hassle than it is probably worth. You can only be the young version of you for seven days at a time, and then you have to spend seven days as the normal you. When the substance is taken, the younger, sexier version literally bursts out of the original body, through the back. (And since they are two different versions of the same person, the other version has to lay comatose for the week it is not the dominant being.)
The new improved version of Elisabeth is Sue (Margaret Qualley), a gorgeous, insanely built and naturally charming young woman. As Sue, she gets back the hosting job of the exercise show and becomes a star. (Again, in what odd alternate universe can someone become famous doing an aerobics TV show in the modern world?)
However, it becomes a battle of wills between the two versions of the woman, with Sue gets so wrapped up with herself that she starts to go over her allotted time, Elisabeth is the one who starts to pay for breaking the rules.
Most of this, again, makes little or no sense, but I was willing to give The Substance the benefit of the doubt – for a while. And then it all goes so, so, so wrong. As the gore and ridiculous plot points start to explode in on the characters (and the audience), the story becomes so fucking strange and over-the-top that eventually you’re either going to buy into it or not – and I most certainly did not.
The work of David Cronenberg and Quentin Tarantino obviously inspired Writer/director Coralie Fargeat. Sadly, her storytelling is not nearly as good as either of those filmmakers. She allows her film to go so far off the rails that by the time it was over (and it’s nearly two and a half hours long) I had lost most of my patience for these ridiculous people and the stupid harm they bring upon themselves and others and the world at large.
Jay S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2024 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: September 18, 2024.
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