There's Not Enough Depth to "The Substance"

Demi Moore in The Substance

 

 I finally caught up with The Substance, the 2024 film that garnered Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid a ton of positive reviews and notched Moore a Golden Globe award. There’s a lot to admire in this tale of an aging actress who uses a mysterious substance to give herself a younger appearance, but I ultimately found myself wishing that the script had been as strong as the performances and the visuals.

Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley are both terrific, completely throwing themselves into the material, even when the screenplay doesn’t quite get where it needs to go. Moore's work in particular gives the film some real emotional weight, and Qualley and Quaid are absolutely terrific. Visually, The Substance is truly astonishing. The colors, production design, camerawork, and practical effects are so fantastic that you can't help but watch the screen.

My biggest issue with The Substance is that the script seems thinner than the amazing filmmaking surrounding it. The basic idea is strong, and the movie wants to make a valid point about aging, beauty, celebrity, and how women are valued in today's world. But the script keeps hammering the same point home without really developing its ideas, or giving the characters much depth, despite the strong performances by the two leads.

There are moments when it feels like the story is going to become more emotionally compelling, but the film often chooses to become bigger, grosser, and more cartoonish instead. There’s nothing wrong with being gory, or channeling body horror on a purely visceral level. I just wish the script had the same confidence and imagination as the performances and the astonishing visuals. There’s a genuinely great movie somewhere inside The Substance. It's a well-made, brilliantly acted film, with some extraordinary work by director Coralie Fargeat, but I think it falls just short of reaching its goal.