‘The Substance’ Review: A Film That Highlights Hollywood’s ‘Feminine Narcissism’ Problem

There is no bigger plight in modern Hollywood than a 50-year-old actress who is no longer the attraction she was in her 20s and 30s. 

Today you hear 30-year-old actresses complaining about not getting the opportunities their 20-year-old counterparts receive.  Women in the entertainment industry are so obsessed with fame and attention that the reality of no longer having the same level of fame and attention – and beauty – they did several years prior is the worst-case scenario for women in the business.

Maybe The Substance is the best exploration of this phenomenon. A film that is hailed as a Feminist horror movie certainly tries to portray its message in one direction, but in the course of doing so, always manages to expose the real story behind the level of debauchery in the entertainment industry. 

The Substance stars Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle, an Award-winning actress who has now been reduced to being a host of a popular TV aerobics show. The one-time superstar who received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is fired on her 50th birthday and gets in a car accident at the sight of seeing her billboard taken down. 

At the hospital, she receives a flash drive from a shady nurse labeled “The Substance”, which promotes a mysterious serum that, when injected, creates a younger, more beautiful, more “perfect” version of the user. Desperate for the attention she once held, Elisabeth orders and injects the product, a single-use “Activator”, causing a younger version of herself to be born from a slit in her back. 

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The younger version of Sparkle is called Sue, played by Margaret Qualley. Sue becomes an overnight sensation doing the same job that Elizabeth was doing but the network executives love her because she is a younger and hotter version of Liz.  As the two try to share one existence, fame begins to become a driving factor between the two entities – which leads to one attempting to steal time from another – which leads to a horrifying backlash for both women involved.

The Substance is 2/3 of a good movie. When the film plays up to the psychological elements of the movie, for two acts it is one of the better movies of 2024.  Demi Moore strips down her ego and everything else in one of the best performances of the year, highlighting the struggles of an aging actress trying to maintain relevance in the industry that is slowly pushing her away. 

The film attempts to dress down the unrealistic beauty standards of the entertainment industry but talks out of both sides of its mouth. No one is going to argue that Demi Moore, at the age of 61, looks anything but amazing, especially in the film. But that’s not the validation that the film seeks.  A perfect example of this is when the character of Liz reconnects with an old childhood friend who is still very much interested in the woman that she currently is.

But then inexplicably,  Liz blows off this character because the validation that she seeks is not from some poor bloke, but from the industry. From people that are better than him. It is that validation that leads the protagonist to go to extreme methods to maintain her piece of relevancy. Margaret Qualley, who plays the character of Sue, stretches herself to her emotional limits playing the oversexualized character in the film. 

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Margaret, who admitted to taking up drugs and alcohol to complete this movie, plays the other side of the Hollywood coin,  a woman in her twenties who is super attractive and Hollywood can’t get enough of. Like most young actresses Sue is blinded by the attention she receives, which has put her on the broad path of destruction.

The film, in reality, is a critique of the feminine nature and inadvertently highlights the level of depravity that women in the industry will go to to receive self-validation.  While the film thinks that it’s a critique of beauty standards, it highlights the unbound narcissism that drives Hollywood to this day.

When the substance plays on the psychological traits of its characters the film is brilliant.  What causes the film to fall on its face is the final act which decides to take a left turn into over-the-top gory horror in a manner that completely clashes with the narrative. 

The final act goes all in on a bloody gorefest that will rival 1980s horror B movies. This style clashes with the first 2/3 of the film, where we’re left with a movie that is either going to play up to film critics who are admiring the message of the movie and at the same time chasing away audience members who bought to the grounded aspect of the Sci-Fi before turning into complete shlock.

The Substance should be a top 10 movie of the year but the final 20 minutes that stretches on far too long produces the cinematic equivalent of fumbling at the goal line. A movie attempting to make a statement that in reality reveals the true nature of those in the system and then fails to deliver a satisfying ending. With that said, the film is worth seeing but it’s a movie that could have been so much better. 

Check out the trailer:

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