the fountain of youth turns red

Elizabeth is a former star who is now happy doing her own exercise show, but soon, she learns that her chauvinistic boss (played by Dennis Quaid) is looking for a younger replacement. She survives a fatal accident and in the process, comes across an advertisement for something called The Substance. She can create a younger version of herself by injecting the activator. Every seven days, the original must swap roles with the lookalike. is it safe? what are the consequences?

Elizabeth doesn’t have much time to ponder these questions. Desperate, she quietly returns to her spacious Los Angeles apartment (masterfully designed by Stanislas Radelet), which has huge glass walls that provide a bird’s-eye view of the city. This place represents his loneliness as tragically vast and unforgivable. She decides to take the substance, and then she emerges, having broken her spine: replaced by a much younger woman, played by the pitch-perfect Margaret Qualley. She is Sue.

Demi Moore gives career best performance

Sue has transitioned into her role as a new face, following the same exercise routine, and her quick rise to stardom means she needs more time and longer days. It also means a little work around the rules of substance use. Elizabeth begins to get angry with Sue midway through, which creates some of the most difficult scenes in The Substance – a far cry from the utter bloody absurdity of the second half. Moore, at her finest on screen, is devastating to watch as her self-esteem slowly erodes, disturbing in this particular scene where she agrees to meet a man who is ready for change. Has been kind to him. Elizabeth’s own insecurity is the real horror, as she erases it with her bare, calloused hands.

final thoughts

The substance loses that restraint and thoughtfulness during the final hour, when Fargeat takes body horror to such extremes that it ignores its critique of aging and sexist male attitudes. However, experiencing the mayhem that ensues is still consistently violent, gruesome, and extremely funny, thanks to the instantly memorable work of prosthetics and makeup effects designer Pierre-Olivier Persin.

Ultimately, I grew tired of the body politics of The Substance, a film that only wants to critique what it means to grow old and not love yourself. Fargate’s vision is filled with a riotous fury and audacity that throws it back at the establishment that sets these absurd beauty standards. But does it do a better job of dismantling this idea of ​​the nature of aging in a widely criticized world? The trick, the derailment, is a problem here because it puts the consequences firmly on the shoulders of the woman herself. He has nowhere to hide, nowhere to go. It’s like her biggest nightmare come true – facing the world with a scarier version of herself.

Behind the serious shock value, The Substance does little to heighten Elizabeth’s desperation and suffering. Who is Elizabeth when she is not defined by the disillusionment caused by her aging? Elizabeth exists in this a myopic basis of judgment. So as the film progresses she punishes herself more and more. While suffering, he was gradually driven towards madness. This substance can be considered as a blood-soaked question mark on the unrealistic beauty standards that are plaguing showbiz.

Substance is streaming on Mubi.