Coralie Fargeat's The Substance is exactly what it appears to be: a body-horror satire about Hollywood and the aging female body. What it is less obvious about is how precisely it executes its central bit, and how Demi Moore delivers one of the great late-career performances of her life.
Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore) is a 50-something daytime TV fitness host being quietly dropped for someone younger. She discovers a black-market procedure called "The Substance" that promises to create a perfected younger version of herself, Sue (Margaret Qualley), with whom she must share consciousness on alternating weeks. The rules are strict. They are not followed. Everything gets worse.
Fargeat's Control
What elevates The Substance above standard body-horror shock value is Fargeat's precision. Every shot is composed. Every match cut between Elisabeth's decaying body and Sue's flawless one is deliberate. Fargeat previously made Revenge (2017), a much-admired rape-revenge genre film that demonstrated her command of genre pacing. The Substance applies that command to a much more ambitious target.
Demi Moore does not give a safe performance. The film asks her to be humiliated, terrified, and finally — in one set-piece that will be argued about for years — transformed. She commits completely. It is one of the bravest performances by an American actress in a decade.
Not for Everyone
The Substance is explicit in its body horror. The last twenty minutes are genuinely upsetting and not meant for anyone who is squeamish. For viewers who can take it, the film is a formally precise cri de coeur about what mainstream culture does to women as they age.
Playing at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Imagine Carlton, Landmark Edmonton, Cineplex Varsity VIP.