Once or twice a year a movie comes out that is so weird, so off the wall, so over the top, so “for the sickos”, that my friends and family have dubbed them “Julian movies”. They're films that are so extreme that I could t possibly recommend them, but boy do I recommend them wholeheartedly and welcome the jeers. This year has been rife with them but The Substance may be my favorite.
The film follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), an aging Oscar winner (which is mentioned off handedly) turned TV aerobic instructor/host who is let go due to her age. Despite this description the film doesn't take place in the 80s, rather there's a semblance of timelessness. Her distress over being fired by the sleazest ball of all Harvey (Dennis Quaid) leaves her distracted and she winds up in a car accident. It is here where a young doctor scopes her out and introduces Sparkle to The Substance.
The Substance is a treatment that causes your body to under go mitosis, splitting a person in two and creating a double that is the best version of themselves. They are however expected and repeatedly told, they are one in the same and must only spend a week on each body at a time. In Sparkle’s case, her double is the ambiguously young and blindingly beautiful Sue (Margaret Qually) who ends up being everything Sparkle wanted to relive. Maybe a little too much as Sue wants to be in the driver seat longer than she's aloud.
From here the film goes from 0 to a million in quick fashion. The film is a post modern marvel in every sense of the style, with certain characters embodying entire ideas. Hell the TV shows are often referred to as generically as possible, character are borderline pastiches of stereotypes, and the direction is so in your face you might mistake it for salacious. But it's all at the service of the themes films like beauty standards, fame, growing older, identity, and all the pitfalls in between. Director Coralie Fargeat deftly handles the audaciousness of these ideas, truly creating something wonderful.
The Substances wears it's inspirations and references on its sleeve. From locations and shots that look straight out of The Shining, a story that harkens to The Picture of Dorian Grey and Neon Demon, to effects that recall early works of the Davids (Lynch and Cronenberg) or more directly Brian Yuzna. But it doesn't just copy them or play the “you remember” game. Instead it juxtaposes them hilariously with contrasting imagery to further enhance them.
Now there's the ending, which if you have any familiarity with the stories The Substance is referencing throughout, you should be prepared for the worst. I'm not above being disgusted, but I think the actual grossness of the finale is overrated. Don't get me wrong, the ending is vile but the postmodern storytelling and direction really underlined the joyful ridiculousness of the grotesquery on hand. It made it make sense, at least as much sense that postmodernism allows. I was genuinely cackling throughout the audaciousness of the final 20 minutes and hope more people seek out this insane film.
The Substance is currently playing in theaters. I highly suggest you make the trip out, this film deserves to be seen on the big screen.
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