Moore plays the ironically named Elizabeth Sparkle, a woman whose acting/TV stardom is fading at 50.
But she mightve heeded a few warnings first.
human being in the prime of her own reproductive life.
Courtesy of MUBI
(And you thought your caesarian was tough!)
A look at Elizabeth’s spine after having birthed her young doppelganger.
This is a very different kind ofFreaky Fridaysituation.
A look at Elizabeth’s spine after having “birthed” her young doppelgänger.
A chance to watch a younger woman having succeeded her?
What is Elizabeth actually getting out of the arrangement?
(Except, spoiler alert, the enraging agony of slowly transforming into amonstercrone.)
Maybe this is one of the questions the writer-director Coralie Fargeat wants us to ask ourselves.
What, in fact, does one get by trying to recapture the beauty of youth?
Fargeats answer becomes increasingly vivid as the movie slides into its blood-soaked finale.
(Qualley reportsinUSA Todaythat on the set they firehosed 30,000 gallons of fake blood.)
So whatdoesone get, according toThe Substance?
Extravagant, graphic gore; not to mention public opprobrium and shame.
Fargeat has said that the movie is a mirror of societys misogynistic mentality.
(Also that once were past our reproductive prime were less valuable human beings.)
Im never going to say aging is a piece of cakeeven when youre lucky enough to be healthy.
I understand that Fargeat is satirizing beauty cultureespecially as it thrives in Hollywoodbut I found watchingThe Substancereally stressful.
Celebrities sound off on aging:
Brooke Shields walks us through her hair routine:
