By all accounts, “The Substance” is one of the year’s most deliciously f*cked up movies. Directed by Coralie Fargeat, the French filmmaker behind the striking rape vengeance thriller, “Revenge,” she returns to confront aging in women and the way society treats women in an audacious cosmetic body horror called “The Substance.”
The film centers on an aging star, played by Demi Moore, who is forced out of her lucrative on-TV aerobics instructor career by her vile and disgusting boss (Dennis Quaid). At her lowest point, not sure what she shall do, a Faustian bargain appears at her door: a mysterious box promising dreams of a better, younger, more “perfect” self that contains something alluring called “The Substance.” Things go batsh*t from there when the substance allows her to transform into her younger self (Margaret Qualley), dazzle men, and reclaim her career. But it’s too good to be true, and “The Substance” evolves into something crazier, creepier, and wild.
When French actress Eva Green awarded Coralie Fargeat the Best Screenplay prize at Cannes, she described “The Substance” as “Bold [and] beautifully bonkers.” Our review from Cannes by Gregory Ellwood described the film as “visionary,” and it seemed to both shock, thrill, and delight critics and audiences on the Croisette.
Here’s the synopsis from Cannes:
Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? You. Only better in every way. Seriously. You’ve got to try this new product. It’s called The Substance. IT CHANGED MY LIFE. It generates another you. A new, younger, more beautiful, more perfect you. And there’s only one rule: You share time. One week for you. One week for the new you. Seven days each. A perfect balance. Easy. Right? If you respect the balance… what could go wrong?
Try this new product, and it’ll change your life, right? It’s a promise that also sounds like a too-good-to-be-true admonition. “The Substance” will be released in U.S. theaters on September 20 via the excellent arthouse streaming service MUBI (which does theatrical, too). Watch the new trailer below.