“And when the idea of Demi Moore came up, I was sure I wouldn’t want to do it, I thought it would be too scary. When I heard that he reacted positively to the script, I thought, ‘Oh my God!’ “I was very surprised,” he added.
Demi Moore’s character takes a black market drug that creates a younger, more beautiful double of her (played by Margaret Qualley). MUBI
Margaret Qualley (who plays Sue, Elisabeth Sparkle’s double) had a different challenge: to impersonate someone who is supposed to be the embodiment of perfection.
“I think it gave me a closeness to myself that I really value,” Qualley told the BBC.
For Demi Moore, “Margaret (Qualley) was under a lot more pressure than I was, because she had to be more perfect. It felt great to be able to show up and look like crap!”
Chances are if you see «The Substance» you stay with one feeling of conflict.
The first hour or so is exactly what cinema should be: daring, original, captivating.
The second half of the film isn’t necessarily worse, but your opinion of it will depend on your tolerance for gore.
Qualley herself noted that in an era when many acclaimed directors are making “quiet, intimate films,” she likes how this one “hits you in the head.”
Some critics have given the film 5 stars, including Tim Robey of the Telegraph, who wrote: “The Substance It is a marvel of a satirical horror thriller, at times hilarious, at times moving and at times grotesque.
«The Substance It will make you think, talk and squirm,” he added. Anna Smith de Rolling Stone.
“Body horror is pushed to the limit, challenging the viewer to keep looking rather than hide, feel miserable or even vomit – all reactions are perfectly possible,” Smith said.
The body switch brings unexpected and bloody consequences for Sue, the younger version of Elisabeth Sparkle. MUBI
But not everyone praised her.
Kevin Maher of the Times called the film “childish, useless and intellectually misleading”noting that some audience members walked out of the screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
For BBC film critic Nicholas Barber, “For most of its two hours, The Substance is plenty of style, but not much substance.”
“As fun and brilliantly stylized as it is, The Substance comes across as a slow, shallow waste of an intriguing premise,” he says.
Barber, however, claims that “the delirious last half hour makes it worth it.”
“As Elizabeth and Sue begin to get on each other’s nerves, the film becomes funnier and nastier until it eventually blossoms into a deranged monster movie, awash in fake blood and body horror weirdness,” he says.
Could it win an Oscar?
Film awards and recognition experts have been debating whether this film could have an impact on the Oscar race.
There is no doubt that quality is present in the script, the direction, the makeup, the special effects, the soundtrack and the acting.
Many believe that Demi Moore, in particular, deserves some recognition from the Academy, after a long career with film credits.
But “The Substance” may prove too overwhelming for some.
In the BBC interview, Demi Moore chose her words carefully when asked about possible accolades.
“Whenever you do something, you hope it resonates and has an impact, and I certainly appreciate things that are thought-provoking,” he said.
The film has been seen by many as a commentary on Hollywood’s absurd beauty standards.
Director Coralie Fargeat said the film “It’s about how women are and how everything that is projected onto themfrom an early age, shapes your mood.”
“Of self-hatred and the feeling that you’re never good enough, beautiful enough, thin enough, young enough. At every age, there’s something that can make you feel like you’re not right,” she added.
Still, Nicholas Barber says there are people who will find the film enough to treasure, while others will avoid it.
But, he concludes, “No one will forget her.”
*With reporting by BBC entertainment reporter Steven McIntosh and film critic Nicholas Barber.
