Welcome to How Gay Is It?Out's review series where, using our state-of-the-art Eggplant Rating System, we determine just how queer some of pop culture's buzziest films and TV shows are! (Editor's note: this post contains spoilers for Mubi' The Substance.)
The Substance has us renaming the genre to body-ody-ody horror, as Demi Moore turns in a haunting performance. Director/writer Coralie Fargeat has cooked up an unhinged and often biting commentary on vanity, unfair beauty standards, and the desire for the spotlight. Moore stars as… an aging actress named Elizabeth Sparkle who has also managed to build a fitness empire (she’s serving hardcore fitness era Fonda).
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end (or must they?) and Sparkle finds out she’s being booted from her own show by a business executive. Said exec is played by Dennis Quaid, whose onscreen presence will make your skin crawl both intentionally and unintentionally. It’s at this point that Sparkle is presented with a mystery opportunity in the form of "the Substance."
Demi Moore stars in Mubi's 'The Substance.'Working Title Films/Mubi
It’ll generate a younger, more flawless you, the catch being you have to share time equally. One week on, one week off. If at this point in reading you’re starting to go “what??” stick with us! Turns out the improved model of Sparkle comes in the form of Margaret Qualley, whose half of the split time is spent as Sue. Sue proceeds to immediately replace Sparkle in her exercise empire, and resentment begins to bubble immediately.
Moore and Qualley are cleverly cast as two sides of the same coin. They both embody drive and ambition in their own brilliant ways. Obsession and bitterness on Moore’s side is equally matched by irritation and recklessness on Qualley’s. Qualley’s youthful vibrancy as Sue could come off as grating, but she pulls it off with a cunning and calculated innocence that lesser actors would’ve flailed in.
The Substance relishes in the body part of the body horror genre. Squeamish audiences (like ourselves) will likely struggle with a considerable portion of the film. However, the real conflict comes from the two halves of the same persona, as their tensions hit a breaking point.
Margaret Qualley stars in Mubi's 'The Substance.'Working Title Films/Mubi
For a film about seeking flawlessness, The Substance is not without its areas of improvement. Around the middle it starts to feel bloated and slows itself down. Clocking in at two hours and twenty minutes, it becomes a bit self indulgent. (But hey, we guess that’s show business?) The ending of the film is a chaotic crescendo that will probably leave you aghast. That’s not a flaw per se, it's just something for better or worse that has stuck with us since viewing.
Now to the question that courses through our veins at Out: How gay is it?! Impossible beauty standards gay. Moore’s Elizabeth Sparkle is dealing with a hyperbolic level of scrutiny as an aging public figure, but that dissection is something that is much more universal. Moore is perfectly suited to channel the frustration at no longer being the belle of the ball in society’s eyes. It’s a role that her entire life and career has prepared her for. Women will likely universally relate, as even those who are not seeking the spotlight can find a kindred exasperation in Moore’s performance.
The obsession with the next new hottest thing is something that transcends just women though. Being hung out to dry quickly by those who built you up is something that is unfortunately ubiquitous. Not fitting a certain body type or standard is also something we often see as a pain point for the queer community. The setting of these standards by characters like Quaid’s is something we give the film credit for calling out the hypocrisy of. The puppet masters are as far from the “ideals” they set as possible.
Margaret Qualley stars in Mubi's 'The Substance.'Working Title Films/Mubi
On the body horror front: admirers of the female form will certainly be in for an eyeful of both Moore and Qualley. While the film often switches back and forth from the “male gaze” when the women are participating in their workouts, it employs a more introspective take on the body when the women are alone and more introspective. We found it was perhaps imbalanced though. We get it, they’re hot. At a certain point it stopped serving the story and added to the aforementioned time bloat.
Overall The Substance will likely be divisive. We think Moore and Qualley’s outstanding performances merit watching it. However, we acknowledge that the body horror parts are going to be off putting for many and the runtime is a bit prohibitive. All that being said, the film has stuck with us since we saw it at TIFF, and to stand out in a festival crowd is no easy feat. Overall, we give it a 3.9 out of 5. As for our patented Eggplant Rating scale (though in this case, more of a taco scale) we give it a 2 out of 5.
The Substance is now playing in theaters.
