Disclaimer: The movie being reviewed is R-rated and includes triggering topics such as body horror, gore, profanity and other related topics – watch at your own risk. This review subtly mentions said topics.
Would you ever wish for a better version of yourself?
Just think of it: a new and improved you. More of this, less of that, the “perfect” body where you could do anything you ever wanted. It sounds like a dream. Right?
I would advise you to think again.
“The Substance” shows how quickly this fantasy can turn into a nightmare. This film merges the very real issues people face with their body image with a substance that can achieve everything people could ever think they wanted.
Written and directed by Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance” released on Sept. 20, 2024 and follows Elisabeth Sparkle, a fading star in the entertainment industry. Played by Demi Moore, Sparkle hits a low point, losing her job and overall relevance in an industry that used to applaud her. Feeling lost, she turns to a black-market drug that has the ability to replicate her cells, creating a younger, better version of herself to live as.
The film blatantly displays the societal pressure to stay youthful, as well as displaying the disastrous lengths people will go to uphold certain standards–female celebrities especially. You’ve seen it all before. A gossip magazine will criticize an older star, saying how her time has passed,shaming her for losing her conventionally attractive appearance to the natural process of aging. Months later, the same magazine will laugh at how painfully obvious it is that she got botox and lip filler.
“The Substance” deals with these themes so unsubtly, it actually makes them hit viewers harder. The struggles with beauty are so evident, yet because most critics focus on how they’re so obvious,the whole point of the film completely flies over their heads.
Even if you’ve never been one to particularly feel pressured to adhere to “big-lip” and “no wrinkle” beauty standards, the film is deeply relatable to all women. One scene in particular really spoke to me, where Sparkle prepares herself to go out but stops every time she sees her reflection. She would return to her bathroom, adding more makeup each time, trying to become “prettier” because she felt she wasn’t enough. At the end she just felt defeated, not even wanting to go outside.
People can say the movie is ridiculous, that it’s “too much” for people to handle or enjoy. But “The Substance” isn’t meant to be enjoyable, it’s meant to be a painful film about the realities of ridiculous beauty standards (with a little sci-fi elements mixed in to amplify the intensity).
I appreciate how plain the themes appear with the horrifying special effects, and I’m not the only one. The film received a total of five Oscar nominations: Best Actress, Best Director, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Screenplay and, most notably, Best Picture.
Very few horror movies have been nominated for the Oscars’ Best Picture category, eight to be exact. The only one out of those eight that actually ever won was “The Silence of the Lambs.” That’s one of the reasons why having “The Substance” be nominated for the award is so surprising. Not to mention, I never actually thought the Academy would vote for a movie that so plainly criticizes their toxic culture.
“The Substance” is a horrifying, gory and ultimately tragic story. It highlights struggles many people fail to notice, and it isn’t scared to spray blood in your face to show it. I have the highest hopes for it to win best picture as well as the other awards it was nominated for this March.
It’s very rare for movies in this genre to get nominated for anything big, and recognizing them is the only way we can keep getting more stories like these.
