I’m turning 35 in July. That doesn’t technically make me “old”, but I’m not as spry as I used to be. My stomach rebels against me if I overeat, and I experience back and muscle spasms constantly. And while I feel youthful mentally, that most of my peers have either gotten married or had children occasionally makes me feel more aged than I am. Basically, getting older sucks. Especially when reality moves on without you.
While I feel time slipping me by, I also benefit from being a male. I’ve never experienced societal pressures about aging from the perspective of a woman, which is infinitely worse. Men getting older don’t have it “easy”, but for women it can be a nightmare. That’s why my viewing of The Substance was eye-opening. It was also somewhat off-putting.
The Substance is about aging actress Elisabeth Sparkle. Once an award-winning icon, she’s now a fitness instructor for middle-aged women on television. When her boss fires her on her 50th birthday, Elisabeth becomes desperate and wishes for a new lease on life. She gets that with The Substance, allowing her to live for 7 days at a time as a younger, fitter person. Unfortunately, Elisabeth, and her counterpart Sue, don’t see eye-to-eye, and they begin to clash.
Right from the opening, which is a microcosm of the movie, I knew this wasn’t going to be pleasant. If seeing Elisabeth’s Hollywood star cracked wasn’t subtle enough, the passerby dropping his lunch and trying to clean it up definitely drove home how fleeting Hollywood is. Even the prettiest stars become washed up over time, irrespective of how much Botox or plastic surgery they have. You can’t escape aging, essentially. It’s a shame so many people learn this the hard way.
The movie’s main conflict is of dual realities. The Substance, inspired by Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, focuses on Elisabeth and Sue’s duality, and how that impacts their relationship. Elisabeth considers Sue a leech who frequently feeds off of her life-force. Sue, in contrast, reviles Elisabeth, considering her a grotesque slob who doesn’t clean up after herself. Both are valid outlooks, but they ignore the stresses society places on them, something The Substance program exploits.
Everything reaches a head in the third-act, when a decrepit and withered Elisabeth gets fed up with Sue and tries terminating her existence. She doesn’t have the heart to do it, so she revives her to free her from their tether. Sue, mistaking this, kills Elisabeth, only to regret it when her body starts falling apart. So she takes The Substance again…and turns into an abomination known as Monstro. It’s here where the real tragedy and body horror kick in, complete with a climax where Monstro bleeds on an entire auditorium as her body crumbles from instability.
The movie’s main conflict is of dual realities. The Substance, inspired by Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, focuses on Elisabeth and Sue’s duality, and how that impacts their relationship. Elisabeth considers Sue a leech who frequently feeds off of her life-force. Sue, in contrast, reviles Elisabeth, considering her a grotesque slob who doesn’t clean up after herself. Both are valid outlooks, but they ignore the stresses society places on them, something The Substance program exploits.
Everything reaches a head in the third-act, when a decrepit and withered Elisabeth gets fed up with Sue and tries terminating her existence. She doesn’t have the heart to do it, so she revives her to free her from their tether. Sue, mistaking this, kills Elisabeth, only to regret it when her body starts falling apart. So she takes The Substance again…and turns into an abomination known as Monstro. It’s here where the real tragedy and body horror kick in, complete with a climax where Monstro bleeds on an entire auditorium as her body crumbles from instability.
Even with the opening scene spelling this out, I wasn’t prepared for this. But maybe that’s the point? After all, Sue had been leeching on her host’s energy in order to stay youthful, and this was the consequence. Like the doctor who recommended The Substance pointed out in the diner, it wouldn’t take long before the younger model started abusing the process. It got me wondering if that doctor had regrets, but I guess that’s not relevant? Either way, food for thought.
The bigger theme is that of misogyny, particularly surrounding ageism. All throughout the movie, Elisabeth and Sue are judged by men. For Elisabeth, it’s because of her age “wearing out her beauty”, while with Sue it revolves around treating her like a play toy. This duality’s personified most with Harvey, a gross and greedy executive who objectifies them both. If the close-up of him eating crawfish wasn’t indicative, he only cares about his bottom line. It’s for this reason that I wish Monstro had murdered him as an act of revenge.
Perhaps the one glimmer of hope for Elisabeth is Fred. Fred sees Elisabeth for who she truly is, and he tries catching up with her at a fancy restaurant. Unfortunately, this is when Elisabeth’s starting to struggle with Sue overstepping her bounds, so she’s a no-show. That’s when I genuinely started feeling bad, especially since I’ve called off plans multiple times for health reasons before. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone. Especially with those who care.
The bigger theme is that of misogyny, particularly surrounding ageism. All throughout the movie, Elisabeth and Sue are judged by men. For Elisabeth, it’s because of her age “wearing out her beauty”, while with Sue it revolves around treating her like a play toy. This duality’s personified most with Harvey, a gross and greedy executive who objectifies them both. If the close-up of him eating crawfish wasn’t indicative, he only cares about his bottom line. It’s for this reason that I wish Monstro had murdered him as an act of revenge.
Perhaps the one glimmer of hope for Elisabeth is Fred. Fred sees Elisabeth for who she truly is, and he tries catching up with her at a fancy restaurant. Unfortunately, this is when Elisabeth’s starting to struggle with Sue overstepping her bounds, so she’s a no-show. That’s when I genuinely started feeling bad, especially since I’ve called off plans multiple times for health reasons before. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone. Especially with those who care.
My takeaway from The Substance is twofold: one, society places too much emphasis on staying young. This is at the expense of aging individuals, particularly woman, and their “less desired attributes”. I know the youth love railing on older generations, and not undeservedly, for issues they inherited, but sometimes it’s excessive. After all, they deserve dignity! And what’ll happen when the young become old? Will the tables turn on them?
And two, people should enjoy life, even when they’re old. I only have one surviving grandparent, and she’s recuperating from an injury. It’s been challenging for the whole family, and she’s not happy, but I frequently remind her to be thankful that her cognition’s intact. Because, at almost-92, that’s remarkable. Especially given how many of her friends are worse off than her.
The Substance is the perfect companion piece to Thelma, another movie from last year dealing with aging. It’s not as accessible, and it’s much gorier, raunchier and grosser, but the idea that we should value and embrace growing old, not neglect and ignore it, is still as prevalent. I have to credit Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley for their brilliant performances as Elisabeth and Sue, as it’s not easy pulling off that duality. The same goes for director Coralie Fargeat, who rooted this movie in her own experiences with aging.
And two, people should enjoy life, even when they’re old. I only have one surviving grandparent, and she’s recuperating from an injury. It’s been challenging for the whole family, and she’s not happy, but I frequently remind her to be thankful that her cognition’s intact. Because, at almost-92, that’s remarkable. Especially given how many of her friends are worse off than her.
The Substance is the perfect companion piece to Thelma, another movie from last year dealing with aging. It’s not as accessible, and it’s much gorier, raunchier and grosser, but the idea that we should value and embrace growing old, not neglect and ignore it, is still as prevalent. I have to credit Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley for their brilliant performances as Elisabeth and Sue, as it’s not easy pulling off that duality. The same goes for director Coralie Fargeat, who rooted this movie in her own experiences with aging.
There’s been much talk about how The Substance was robbed at The Academy Awards. I can’t say for sure if it deserved Best Picture, but I do see the argument for it warranting more respect. After all, if Parasite can win Best Picture, and that was also graphic, then why can’t The Substance? It’s not exactly for everyone, but it intrigued me. And I’m no horror fan!
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