Out with the old, in with the new: The Substance (2024)

Written, directed, co-edited, and co-produced by Coralie Fargeat, with a cinematography by Benjamin Kračun, starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid, The Substance (2024) is the talk of the town - or at least it was a few months ago when I watched it and started this blog entry that you are only now reading.

First of all this movie took me 3 tries to watch, and that says a lot already.

I’ll admit that I have a general problem with horrors. Body horrors I can deal with better cause the visuals are the most disturbing part, and not the concept or general tone, but at some point this just got plain disgusting to me. The whole second half of the movie is simply revolting and I found that sooo unnecessary and quite annoying to be honest. I wanted to follow the plot but couldn’t keep my eyes on the screen for more than a minute at a time. It got so splattery and overly violent, which was a bit extreme in my opinion, the message could have been conveyed in less bloody ways.

Nevertheless, the movie is exceptionally well done, it has to be said.

The acting is very good, the shots are masterfully done, and the cinematography is so interesting, original and powerful at delivering messages useful to the progression of the story. I adored the Star-plaque sequence, I thought it was such a great storytelling tool: number 1 rule of filmmaking is "don't say what you can show", and they did exactly that. Also the way we watch Elisabeth searching for The Substance in the trash from underneath the bin was genius *claps in cinephile*.

From the colour grading, to the image composition, to the transitions, the camera work, everything was stunning and perfect and satisfying to watch. There was just one exception: the wide lower angle shots, almost fisheye, those felt so out of place, so commercial-like... I feel like this type of shot needs to convey something, bring a piece of storytelling forward, instead here it felt that it was used solely for aesthetic purposes.

Emptiness seems to be the "fil rouge" connecting a lot of the directorial choices that were made, many sequences felt unnecessary, overlong, repetitive, but everything was always pretty, even though irrelevant. For instance, the motorcycle boy, like why does he exist? Why add a complexity that you simply cannot handle in this overpacked script? The movie was already long enough, there was no time to go in depth through the theme of sex and lust and desire, no time to explore the male gaze deeper than just appearances or ass close-ups, no time to analyse power dynamics and the role of women in television.

The editing was very interesting as well, but everything overall it felt rushed, so fast paced, like we’re constantly running after something that we keep missing or cannot reach. Which I guess that’s an appropriate feeling for this plot, it leaves you with a thirst of a deeper meaning.

Overall this film is exceptionally done, technically perfect, truly a masterclass in filmmaking, but it lacked in emotion, a soul of its own… it felt like a pretty but somewhat empty shell.

Everything about the plot is so stereotypically exaggerated. The perfect doll skin of Sue, the wrinkles of Elisabeth, the theme of age and beauty and womanhood and solitude and fame. The overall concept was a bit… banal? It made me think a lot of The Neon Demon for instance, that feels a bit like a smaller budget version of this. Or even Monica Bellucci in 2005's The Brothers Grimm. This theme has been done and overdone, what is there more to say?