Margaret Qualley has starred in yet another banger. Add The Substance to your watch lists ASAP.
There's a huge buzz around this movie – also starring Demi Moore, thank you very much – which is described as a “body horror”, focusing on society's obsession with youth, ageing and your “best self” supposedly slipping away as you get older. Reviews are saying Demi has given “the performance of her career”.
The movie will be directed by French film director Coralie Fargeat, who won the Best Screenplay accolade at Cannes Film Festival.
Here's everything we know about The Substance so far.
The Substance plot
The plot synopsis is kind of rogue, but underpins a very important premise (surrounding beauty standards, ageing and society's obsession with “self-improvement”) and sums up the edgy way it's executed in the movie.
It reads: “Have you ever dreamed of a better version of yourself? You should try this new product: The Substance. It changed my life. With The Substance, you can generate another version of yourself: younger, more beautiful, more perfect… Just share the time. One week for one, one week for the other. A perfect balance of seven days. Easy, isn’t it? If you follow the instructions, what could go wrong?”
We also know that Demi plays Elisabeth Sparkle, a 50-year-old star of an aerobics show, who is fired from her job on her birthday due to her age. She is then approached by a laboratory who offer her an injectable “substance” which will make her the “best version” of herself – "younger, more beautiful, more perfect". Margaret plays a younger version of Elisabeth, Sue.
The Substance cast
Joining Margaret and Demi will be Dennis Quaid (aka the dad in The Parent Trap), who plays the misogynistic producer who fires Elisabeth. Hugo Diego Garcia, Matthew Géczy, Joseph Balderrama, Oscar Lesage and Gore Abrams will also star.
The Substance release date
It will hit UK cinemas on 20 September.
The Substance trailer
Watch below, it's a gorgeous one. If also quite unhinged.
What have reviews said so far about The Substance?
A review form The Hollywood Reporter has praised the movie's attack of beauty standards and Hollywood and how both “trap” women.
“Fargeat combines sci-fi elements with body horror and satire to show how women are trapped by the dual forces of sexism and ageism,” the review reads. “Beauty and youth are the targets at the heart of this film, but the director also takes aim at Hollywood’s ghoulish machinations and the compulsive physical and psychological intrusiveness of cisgender heterosexual men.”
British Vogue has called it “a gonzo, breathless descent into the abyss” – sign us up.