A movie directed by Coralie Fargeat, who to be honest I have no clue, first time for me but from the trailer the movie has the potential to be very unique both in the acting and direction, it seem to capture quite a few interesting angles with zoom to the characters. The story is about characters who finde themselves in a pursuit of youth and fame in the world of celebrities and the price they have to pay for it, we humans sometimes do what ever it takes just for vanity. In this kinda bizzare movie we find stars like Demi Moore, a washed up aerobics type of video vixen who hosts a show about fitness, playin the role of Elizabeth Sparkle who needs to hear others aclaim her and this is what drives her to look for a secret method called The Substance, where the name of the movie comes in. The hole story about this substance is very simple, a fiction story based on no facts just to create this enviroment of full dopamine dose, every time Elizabeth injects herself with the substance it activates the growth of a younger and better version of her. You might think that it makes her younger but nop, it actually creates a physical alter ego called Sue who Elizabeth have to switch places every time Sue comes in, this second character is played by Margaret Qualley.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17526714/
- Platform: Theaters
- Release: September 20, 2024
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The theme and commentary part of this movie will be all about questions of identity and self worth, since Elizabeth's younger version takes over her role on the fitness show, its not seen during the trailer but it has been commented that the movie in fact does show the transformation effects, I wonder how bad she would look that might make the audience reflect on their own point of view towards youth and beauty, kinda similar scenario on GOT with Melisandre for those who watch the show. On the trailer I could notice that there is also a psychological aspect to this transformation when things start to go south, when the treatment stops having the desire effect, Elizabeth starts to go full blown mad, showing once against the struggles of fighting back aging and everything that comes with it, all to keep a certain status at the public eye, making women full of insecurity and self doubt, reflects the feeling of getting older and the anxiety that comes with it and saying so many goodbyes in life.
During the movie Moore changes her looks in every way possible to describe the changes that the character goes through and her acting of Elizabeth’s internal war against time and her value as a woman would be her best tool in describing the pressure that women in the film industry go through, does sound like a performance very realistic and powerful one, she is a desperate woman who is ready to fight both the time and society.
Qualley’s performance lift up the film approach to the issue of identity where the protagonist is both Elizabeth and not Elizabeth at the same time, her scenes with Moore are very painful as the clash of the woman against herself reflects the conflict that many female characters experience when they reach a certain age in a world that does not appreciate aging.
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Fargeat’s vision called for a lot of practical effects and makeup to make look as real as possible the brutal metamorphosis of the film and characters, the makeup department has done such a great job to the point some critics have mention the possibilities of an Oscar nomination for makeup and hair styling, she have also been praise for the way of using female nudity during the film where the safety of female actors was a top priority, nudity used purely in terms of artistic freedom to raise the level of the film.
The movie touch themes as the corrupt side of Hollywood and the expectations of women to look young and beautiful has brought many positive reviews, although some people found it as a strong critique of Hollywood’s treatment of older actresses while others noticed the movie’s message on the unreachable beauty standards, stay beautiful for ever.
For some time during the rest of the year I could really see this film been the focus of discussion and controversy online, if it gets nominated to any kind of awards this reaction would be way bigger. From what I have seen so far I have to mention that there is a lot of creativity, outstanding acting and pointing out essential issues in our society now days that makes the film very interesting. The film premier in May 2024 at the Cannes Film Festival and from what I could find online it has been a total success with over +1k votes on sites like IMDB with a 7.9/10 and 91% acceptance from critics in RTT although not many votes over there.
The movie as mention touch on certain topics like aging, identity and social expectations, that are so relevant to many people. Although others might think its not every effective I doubt the creation of this movie is to start any kind of movement towards this topics, as always people ask too much from the entertaining industry that is not to educate, education and values come from home not even from schools, there for this is just another film that wanted to touch on certain topics from the industry that have been there for ages and will continue to be there without much change because they are purely based on vanity and greed. Im sure this will be a movie many wont forget from 2024 and Im actually eager to watch it to figure out if it really is that great.
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