The Substance, follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) and a younger “better” version of Elisabeth Sparkle (Margaret Qualley), is a dark satire, horror film that comments on society’s obsession with unattainable beauty standards. The film introduces viewers to a young Elisabeth Sparkle, an Oscar winning movie star at the peak of her fame in her twenties. As she ages, her reputation as a celebrated actress starts to fade and she grapples with the unrealistic standards of aging in the Hollywood industry.
As a result of these standards, Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday because she is no longer young enough to fit the ideal beauty standards of the Hollywood industry. As she tries to come to terms with this realization that she can no longer use her beauty to garner fame or recognition, she starts to use a suspicious medical injection called “The Substance.”
The Substance claims that “one singular injection unlocks your DNA, starting a new cellular division that will release a new version of yourself.” The substance creates an alternate clone of Sparkle, creating the alter ego Sue that is the perfect young version Sparkle had always wanted. However, after seven days, Sue is forced to switch back to Sparkle, who is isolated and alone and the complete opposite of Sue. Yet, everytime, she is reminded by the substance that these two personas are the same even though the personalities are completely contradictory.
Sue represents the ideal and beautiful rich girl that gets what she wants, but viewers can’t help rooting for success because of how much more charismatic her personality is than Sparkle’s.
The movie examines self image and how it ties into unrealistic societal standards. The movie begins with false advertising of looking youthful and vivacious from the newspapers, and this is an example of an external pressure that convinces Sparkle to take the substance in the first place. The film also mocks the “male gaze” in the entertainment industry and questions how the female identity is portrayed in Hollywood.
Overall, this movie perfectly depicts the duality between the ideal self that fits with societal standards, and the “imperfect self” that deviates from societal expectations. While both selves are flawed, the film does a good job of showing how societal expectations can corrupt the mind into thinking one is better than the other.
