The Substance follows Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) as she navigates fame in Hollywood after the age of fifty. Her star power diminished and studio executives wanting someone younger, she desperately tries to stay in the game by injecting herself with a mysterious substance that promises to give her youth for seven days provided that she also be her own self for seven days at a time. Her body double is born gruesomely out of her back, but when this younger double starts taking more than her seven days, Elizabeth starts to deteriorate quickly both physically and mentally. Her double, calling herself Sue (Margaret Qualley), takes until Elizabeth has nothing left to give.
At the forefront of this film is a blunt and brutal takedown of the ridiculous beauty and aging standards put upon women in Hollywood. It does not hold back. Demi Moore is absolutely superb in showing the body dysmorphia caused by losing her position because of her age. Her desperation to cling to any bit of her youth regardless of the cost unleashes a monster so grotesque that you have to see it to believe it. If Moore does not get an Oscar nomination for this, then we riot. Because she deserves to win this year.
Margaret Qualley is equally good here bringing youthful confidence and sexiness to the screen. I can’t even imagine the guts it took to take on this role given how much of it is spent either nude or close to it, but Qualley does it with such ease that it is difficult to look away.
Everything about The Substance is a feast for the eyes. Moore and Qualley look majestic until the third act when both characters devolve into monstrous versions of themselves. Cinematography continues to be beautiful even as the gore begins. Even as the monster is unleashed upon the world. Even as it becomes difficult to watch blood frame after bloody frame. And every moment is intentional. Each uncomfortable second is meant to slap the viewer across the face. Again, no subtly here. And I loved every single second of it.
This movie is memorable. It’ll stick with me for a long time. It will be talked about for decades. It will be brought up in conversations about how women are held up to unfair standards while men get to age ungracefully. And I’m here for it.
Four out of five stars, which will likely become five out of five stars when I rewatch it. See this on the big screen.
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Becky Tyler Art and Photography 
The Substance follows Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) as she navigates fame in Hollywood after the age of fifty. Her star power diminished and studio executives wanting someone younger, she desperately tries to stay in the game by injecting herself with a mysterious substance that promises to give her youth for seven days provided that she also be her own self for seven days at a time. Her body double is born gruesomely out of her back, but when this younger double starts taking more than her seven days, Elizabeth starts to deteriorate quickly both physically and mentally. Her double, calling herself Sue (Margaret Qualley), takes until Elizabeth has nothing left to give.
At the forefront of this film is a blunt and brutal takedown of the ridiculous beauty and aging standards put upon women in Hollywood. It does not hold back. Demi Moore is absolutely superb in showing the body dysmorphia caused by losing her position because of her age. Her desperation to cling to any bit of her youth regardless of the cost unleashes a monster so grotesque that you have to see it to believe it. If Moore does not get an Oscar nomination for this, then we riot. Because she deserves to win this year.
Margaret Qualley is equally good here bringing youthful confidence and sexiness to the screen. I can’t even imagine the guts it took to take on this role given how much of it is spent either nude or close to it, but Qualley does it with such ease that it is difficult to look away.
Everything about The Substance is a feast for the eyes. Moore and Qualley look majestic until the third act when both characters devolve into monstrous versions of themselves. Cinematography continues to be beautiful even as the gore begins. Even as the monster is unleashed upon the world. Even as it becomes difficult to watch blood frame after bloody frame. And every moment is intentional. Each uncomfortable second is meant to slap the viewer across the face. Again, no subtly here. And I loved every single second of it.
This movie is memorable. It’ll stick with me for a long time. It will be talked about for decades. It will be brought up in conversations about how women are held up to unfair standards while men get to age ungracefully. And I’m here for it.
Four out of five stars, which will likely become five out of five stars when I rewatch it. See this on the big screen.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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