‘The Substance’ Review: A Brutally Masterful Look at Beauty (TIFF 2024)

Society’s obsession with the female body and what makes it beautiful is not a new subject. Fashion magazines, models, and commercials pitching products to the “everyday” woman all amount to a crushing weight of expectations women endure almost daily. However, director Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance pushes that story even further, giving us a remarkable combination of characters in a fearless, bloody, and shocking film that pulls no punches on the subject. 

We meet Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), a former top celebrity who suddenly finds herself without a job when studio head Harvey (Dennis Quaid) cancels her fitness show. She realizes that, at her age, she has few opportunities available. This desperation leads her to a mysterious product called “The Substance.”

The promise of being reborn as Sue (Margaret Qualley), a younger, better version of herself, is too hard to resist. There are two rules: You can only activate the younger version of yourself once and must switch between bodies every seven days. There are no exceptions. Suffice it to say, this is not as easy as it sounds and quickly turns into a nightmare. 

Fargeat keeps the script lean, focusing on a few characters. The cast takes advantage of this and presents some fascinating and brutally honest performances. Quaid is perfectly lecherous as Harvey. He shows no compassion for anything that doesn’t move the needle regarding his monetary needs, especially when trying to keep investors happy.

As Sue, Qualley is solid. She revels in the new, younger body and gives us a character who quickly free-falls in the wake of certain revelations. It’s a tougher role, playing opposite Moore, but she does a great job with what she is given. There were times when she was in the background too much. However, being the “pretty one,” that was required of her on a daily basis.

Enough cannot be said about Demi Moore’s performance. As Sparkle, she gives a riveting and heartbreaking performance as a woman who feels backed into a corner with no future. As Harvey put it to her, turning fifty is a career death sentence for any woman in the glamor industry, where beauty reigns supreme. A scene in front of the mirror, in which she sees everlasting imperfections, never being satisfied, is transfixing and hard to watch simultaneously. When both Sue and Elizabeth realize that the consequences of certain decisions they make along the way risk the delicate balance they share, both find ways to justify said decisions in alarming and sad ways. 

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The film glows neon and bright amongst the blood and horrors within it, especially in the last twenty minutes. Fargaet lets loose the consequences of the substance with a carnage that is as beautiful as it is horrific. Cinematographer Benjamin Kracun gives us bright and bold visuals, both in the characters and the bloody mayhem that inhabits the film. Great character shots bring out some scenes in more personal and frightening ways, from Harvey’s slimy close-ups to the women’s plastic glow. It gives the film an extra push in the direction it needs to go and makes the collapse of the characters’ failure to follow the rules to survive even more poignant. 

Ultimately, The Substance succeeds with style and substance, letting a tight story pave the way for some truly wonderful performances. As a father with a teenage daughter, I admit some scenes were difficult to watch. You are left with some honest truths when you strip away the layers of satire, gloss, blood, and gore. Specifically about the way women are treated in industries that have no qualms about taking everything they can until they no longer fit the certain criteria that got them started in the first place. It is masterfully done and monstrous in the outcomes, making for a truly remarkable viewing experience.

The Substance had its North American premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.