I’ve been sleeping on Demi Moore’s The Substance. Ever since its release on September 20, 2024, there’s been buzz around this movie. Hell, even before it came out there were a lot of people noting the stylistic choices when it came to the music, voiceover, and even the way that Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley were focused on in the trailer. But even with all the critical acclaim for Moore’s role as Elisabeth Sparkle, a woman who uses a black market drug to create a younger version of herself after she gets fired, I held back from watching. And it was a mistake on my part because The Substance is one of the oddest, but most honest, conversation starters about societal pressures that women face in this day and age.
I ended up watching The Substance right before the 2025 Golden Globes win by Demi Moore for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. And during her acceptance speech she spoke about how at one point in her career she was called a “popcorn actress.” It was a demoralizing comment that followed her throughout her career and broke her spirit. Things changed for her when The Substance by Coralie Fargeat crossed her desk. And in her 44 years of making movies and starring in TV shows, I think this might be her best work yet.
Moore’s performance as Elisabeth Sparkle is familiar and yet horrifying. As women we all deal with societal expectations about what we should look like, who we should date, or what strides we should be making in our lives. It’s judgment homegrown by the patriarchy and ingrained in us so much that we don’t even notice how it affects every single part of our lives. For Elisabeth, her job is tied to her self-worth. So when she’s told by a man, who is consistently shown to be disgusting, that she’s basically old news, it breaks something within her. That desperation leads her to try the substance.
We never find out what the substance is, how it started, or how the actual science of how it works. But as someone who is Latina and has experienced magical realism in the things she watches, I’m okay with not knowing. Because it isn’t the focus of the story. The focus is on how we can destroy ourselves as a means of fitting into other people’s expectations of us. And that there comes a point where we look at what we had with such nostalgia and wish we could go back. The Substance is a cautionary tale to appreciate what you have instead of focusing on what others expect of you.
The Substance is also visually uncomfortable. Not the actors. The actors are fantastic and the pointed duality between Moore and her character’s counterpart, played by Qualley, emphasizes how society desires perfection that is simply not sustainable or realistic. The Substance is visually uncomfortable because of the fantastic cinematography. They take equal amounts of time to show unique elements of how disgusting Dennis Quaid’s character Harvey is. Not just in his personality but also his mannerisms. For example, when he’s eating shrimp as he’s telling the lead that she is basically out of business, the camera focuses on his mouth and how he’s chewing, the sounds are amplified, and the camera pans in in a way that you can’t look away. You have to face the ugly reality with Elisabeth. And it makes for a deeper connection with her character.
Then there’s Sue played by Qualley. For me, the substance providers reminding Elizabeth that she and Sue are one is a clear line to how women are made to compete against each other. Because if we’re competing against each other to see who is younger, hotter, or better at her job, then we’ll ignore the actual monster in the room aka the societal expectations and gender norms that come with the patriarchy that men benefit from. Elisabeth and Sue could have thrived together. But because they were so consumed with what they wanted, neither of them achieved their dreams and they destroyed one another.
If at this point of our review for The Substance, you’re still not convinced, I’ll leave you with this. Society in general is an ageist monster. But Hollywood is a whole other beast. Once you reach a certain age you are a mother and if you’re below a certain age you’re just a sexy love interest. The Substance breaks away from that and gives us women whose story doesn’t revolve around men. Instead it’s a story about us and our desires to achieve our dreams with a lead that was once called a “popcorn actress” and who won her first Golden Globe. Here’s to her first Oscar.
The Substance is available to purchase on streaming.
