THE SUBSTANCE - Review | Cannes Film Festival 2024

Coralie Fargeat's latest film has become the film to beat for providing one of the most creative, spellbinding, and gnarly experiences for a body-horror film. Even with its apparent themes regarding beauty preservation, addiction, and how fading older stars are perceived in the entertainment industry. The intentionally playful and overstated pace/tone make it something not meant to be taken very seriously; while still providing incredibly satisfying squeamish and bloody sequences with an earned build-up. Featuring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley working wonderfully off one another through an endlessly surprising and entrancing sequence of events best seen without knowing anything about its story. Fargeat and her team have insanely stepped up their craft to deliver some of the most exciting symphony of sound and image for body horror in a very long time.

Still Courtesy – Working Title Films

In modern-day Hollywood where celebrity Elizabeth Sparkle (portrayed by Demi Moore) has found her success as the host of a simple but sensual training show. This ends up being halted when the show's producer Harvey (portrayed by Dennis Quaid) decides that Sparkle needs to be replaced with a younger and more glamorous host for the show to garner more attention. Thus, Sparkle's frustration leads to her purchasing a black-market drug known as The Substance. Something that will hopefully make her meet the demands of Harvey where there's no turning back once utilizing it.

In 2017, Coralie Fargeat introduced herself to the world of cinema with her first feature film, Revenge (2017). A straightforward but highly bloody and fulfilling film that displayed promise to take her gruesome trademarks for a more elaborate story. With The Substance (2024), it's hard to imagine how she'll top what she has accomplished here, something that can be best described as a mix between The Neon Demon (2016), Black Swan (2010), and The Elephant Man (1980). Something that constantly moves without wasting a second of screentime despite its two-and-a-half hour runtime. Just imagine a hyper-stylized and lunatic portrayal showing to what extent an individual will go through to remain looking youthful/beautiful to save her career in the body-horror genre. That's what this film provides and far more as situations in The Substance (2024) begin spiraling out of control.

Demi Moore, who's great to see being given such a prominent, cinematic, and flexible role, is a very inspired and fitting casting choice for the lead character. Probably the most layered performance of her entire career where she exceptionally pulls off portraying Sparkle's lighter and darker sides, even through multiple changes in her character's physical form. Even someone like Moore who at 61 years of age looks as fit and appealing as usual. In the context of the film, for Elizabeth Sparkle to be deemed unpresentable and necessary to replace by her show's exaggeratedly cynical producer. That speaks about the film's evident but self-aware commentary that someone who looks like Demi Moore is being removed from a training show driven by a beautiful host.

Still Courtesy – Working Title Films

Based on this set-up and especially Dennis Quaid's over-the-top but, honestly, perfectly cast performance as Harvey the producer; who throughout the film keeps repeating the same set of lines as a reminder of how pretty girls are meant to act publicly. There's barely anything nuanced about what this film is trying to comment on, and it doesn't even matter. Instead, along with the film's comedic, colorful, and hyper-presentation making it apparent that it's not taking itself seriously, The Substance (2024) has an aim of pushing the boundaries for presenting these themes in such creative and provocative manners that haven't been seen to this extent.

Similar to David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986), it's the type of film where the striking body horror elements happening to the main character are slowly built up and become more apparent as the sequence of events progresses. However, by the film's third act, a complete transformation occurs featuring such grimy and unique designs thanks to some of the most memorable and outstanding makeup work in a while. Thus, it's the point of the story where all the minor details and faults/struggles of the main character pay off with a massively satisfying showcase of multi-layered creature designs. Also, so much blood that makes the ending of Suspiria (2018) look cheap in comparison. Not to mention all the callbacks and foreshadowing of details/framing from the beginning being reincorporated to the end. Basically, there's an endless amount of filmmaking details to appreciate for how the film and its concept were executed; plenty of them are easy to overlook considering how fast the film is paced.

From the precise and rhythmic cutting that reflects Sparkle's headspace to the layers of perfectly timed/mastered sound effects that will be hard to forget for how they're used. Fargeat's sophomore feature film clearly cements her as a bright voice in bloody cinema who knows how to get the audience fully pumped and engaged through the entire viewing period; while leaving them with much to talk about and react to when it's over. Don't forget about Margaret Qualley who pulls off her role as well as one would expect when figuring out what role she's playing. Basically, everything that this film set out to provide, it did so in a way where it's hard to point out any aspects that detract from the maddening thrill ride that is The Substance (2024). A film where once the credits start rolling, the idea that the film will instantly become a body-horror classic for the ages will certainly be unanimous.

Verdict

10/10

Still Courtesy – Working Title Films