Demi Moore tackles the role of a lifetime in "The Substance" (Mubi), directed by French provocateur Coralie Fargeat.
While it would be easy to call Demi's performance fearless or brave or any other euphemism for "often nude," I'd simply say it's just really cool that Demi Moore, an A-list star since the 1980s —who's made movies like "Ghost," "G.I. Jane," and "A Few Good Men," but hasn't had a high-profile starring role in some time — would look at this totally demented script and say, "Yes, I will play a woman driven so mad by society's unforgiving beauty standards that she starts acting like the Evil Queen from 'Snow White'!"
Moore faces this body horror satire head-on, giving everything she's got to portray what it feels like to age in a world that rejects anyone over 30. "The Substance" leans into that madness for two hours and twenty minutes, giving both Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley ample time to build on each other's riotous rage at a nightmarishly misogynistic society.
The day Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) turns 50, her horrid boss Harvey (Dennis Quaid, giving a manically outsized performance) has kicked her off her long-running aerobics fitness TV show. She spirals, ending up in a car accident and a chance encounter with a strange young doctor.
The doctor slips her a USB drive with 'THE SUBSTANCE' printed on it. He promises it will change her life. After securing a package from a run-down building, Elisabeth feels she has no choice and injects herself with the Substance, birthing a gorgeous younger clone of herself (Margaret Qualley) out of her spine. It seems painful, but the benefits are immediate and extraordinary.
The clone names herself Sue, and she is everything Elisabeth wants to be. She quickly reclaims her TV show and has all of Hollywood knocking at her door. There's just one problem: The Substance only works for seven days, then Sue must go to sleep as Elisabeth reawakens. No real issue, Elisabeth and Sue can manage their schedule. It shouldn't be that hard! And besides, what's the worst that could happen if Sue were to stay out just a little longer?
It's interesting that the film won Best Screenplay at Cannes, as one of its biggest strengths is the limited dialogue. Long stretches of the film focus just on Moore and Qualley's facial expressions, gyrating bodies, and horrifying Cronenbergian transformations. From Moore furiously wiping her makeup off to Qualley cringing at plunging a needle into her original body's spine, we get everything we need without anyone saying anything. The film feels stripped down, with only three big name actors and a couple different locations. Fargeat's focus is not overwhelming theatricality, but precise, especially when it comes to physical transformation.
Without giving too much away, it's clear that Elisabeth Sparkle's miracle drug has a few side effects. Birthing your own clone — who then has to stitch you back together and give you an IV drip of unidentified nutrients while you lay there unconscious for a week — has many opportunities to go wrong. We know there must be a cost, but Elisabeth and Sue are too blinded by fame to see it.
Even when the calm but firm voice over the phone explains things, they don't accept it. In the grand tradition of Brundlefly or Frankenstein's monster, we're here to see things fall apart. On that front, "The Substance" delivers, but the gore is not visceral, with a New French Extremity level, disgusting without feeling like you're watching "Saw." In fact, the grossest moment might be Dennis Quaid sucking up dozens of shrimp while cruelly talking down to Elisabeth.
Overall, "The Substance" is a total blast and proof that Demi Moore's star will never go out. The narrative shortcut in casting Moore is used perfectly, giving us more time to get grossed out by nasty fingernails, rotting teeth, open wounds, blood and pus. Those with weak stomachs may not be able to handle everything spewed in the film, but the brave will appreciate how much work Moore does to sell this ridiculous nightmare.
"The Substance" is currently playing at AMC Kabuki and Landmark Opera Plaza Cinema. www.mubi.com/en/u
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