If you’re considering watching The Substance, be forewarned that it’s intense, violent, and gross—probably unlike any other film you’ve seen before. That’s what makes it hard for me to recommend it to everybody, even though it’s got very strong underlying messages that maybe are best delivered in the violent and stomach-turning language Coralie Fargeat chose for her movie. There will obviously be some spoilers here and there.
Story
The movie’s about a former TV star looking to regain the attention she used to get when she was younger. Out of options, she is introduced to a secret miracle drug called The Substance that promises to give you a perfect version of yourself. The drug actually works, giving you a second, perfect version of you that you embody every other week. There are no side effects as long as you follow the strict guidelines set by the makers of the drug, to “respect the balance”—in their own words.
Maintaining that balance proves to be the main source of conflict in the story, as the protagonist over time finds it harder and harder to switch back to her older self after seven days of being perfect—leading to horrific consequences. What’s more, each time she doesn’t respect the balance her old self becomes more deformed and repulsive, making it even harder to want to switch back to it, creating a vicious circle. Her obsession with being perfect and desire to be in the spotlight again drive her to sacrifice everything she has left, and overall the story of her downfall makes for a terrific—though not necessarily enjoyable—film.
Themes
On the surface level, the film is a depiction of the expendability of stars and celebrities in the entertainment industry, especially women. What they go through once they are past their prime is horrible, and it’s just one facet of the cruelness of that industry.
If we go a bit deeper, it’s about the difficult realization that it’s next to impossible to be considered beautiful and desirable without being—or looking—young. The movie criticizes our futile attempts to be beautiful again just for a little longer—plastic surgery, Ozempic, etc.—and, in a way, argues that accepting the natural course of life might be the more grounded thing to do, not to mention the destructive side effects of the procedures and methods people use to run away from aging and mortality.
In a broader sense, it’s a harsh criticism of the value the modern world places on body shape, youth, and physical beauty, causing so many of us to be ashamed of ourselves and our bodies when often it’s not our fault. The pressure is much more pronounced in women than in men, and that’s why social media, rightly, receives so much criticism for distorting everyone’s body image and standards of beauty, ultimately harming all of us.
Another subtle, recurring theme throughout the film is how the younger self, in its pursuit of success, borrows directly from the health of the older one—and the consequences of that choice are shown in the most grotesque way. I think that’s a concept we can all relate to in our own way, as most of us have sacrificed some of our future health for material success, one way or another.
Imagery
What you see on the screen—though not always pleasant—is colorful, often beautiful, always weird, and unmistakably unique. The imagery I saw was one of the most enjoyable and outstanding things about the film.
There’s also a lot to be said about the violence and body horror. At several points during the film, I thought there was no way it was going to get more brutal, tragic, and violent than this—and yet, the movie surprised me every time. The violence and shock finally peak at the movie’s climax, and I was amazed at just how imaginative it was. You really have to see it for yourself to fully understand.
Verdict
Would I recommend watching the film? Yes. It’s brutal and difficult to watch, and even left me feeling queasy at times. But its honest exploration of mortality and aging, along with vivid imagery that is sure to stay with you, definitely make it worth a watch.
P.S. I used ChatGPT’s new image generation capabilities for the pictures in this post—and they’re unbelievably good.
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