i knew the self hate was real when NEITHER one was really gentle or considerate of the other body when it was unconscious for 7 days. they don’t even give each other a blanket or a pillow it was so sad 😭😭
Whoa, I never even considered this... now that I think about it, I'd probably put my other self back in bed so at least they could wake up to something familiar (but then I wouldn't even agree to take The Substance at all, so I guess that means nothing lol)
I thought about this over and over like why couldn’t they switch while laying on a bed so they could tuck their other self in after waking up? They really hated each other enough to instill a week’s (and more) worth of back pain from leaving them on that tile floor. It’s no wonder Elizabeth didn’t do anything while she was awake - Her back probably hurt like hell from the incision, lack of wound care, and horrible sleeping conditions Lolol
@@melaniehartlealso, because I think it was supposed to be a physical representation of the saying "skeletons in the closet" as well. They just hid away their other self like dirty secret
At first they do both tend to each other in the smallest way, each moves the hair of the other to what to me felt like a compassionate/self-compassionate move before...the rest of the movie lol
That hurt most of all because it was the most relatable for me. It's that feeling when you're getting ready and feeling good and then you look in mirror and bam! society's bullshit creeps in and just drags you down. I just kept thinking please go on the date knowing she ultimately wouldn't.
My buddy nailed it when he said “It’s like she’s trying to wipe the old off her face.” Stellar acting by Demi in a scene that is both still and chaotic.
So relatable. I was on vacation a few weeks ago and got dressed and did my makeup and felt so hot! Then I took my phone out to take a photo and every photo was absolutely hideous. Ugh aging both sucks and is awesome 😅
I like another thing someone pointed out. there's another message here about how our younger self abuses our older self. we do things that we know will hurt us in the long run because that's your older selfs problem. we smoke, drink do drugs party, work too hard, put our bodys at risk eat bad food blah blah, because right now it's good even if we know our future self has to pay for it. same thing here where the younger one, neglects the older one by breaking the rules, over staying and so on.
I'd like to put forward the other end of the seesaw/side of the same coin: the older you berating and envying what younger you HAD, what younger you COULD HAVE DONE, what you'd give to turn back time and slap yourself in the face to let younger you know they're only going to get worse from here.
@@giboi03 this is me. im close to my mid 30s and its not the bad mistakes i made like drinking that bother me, its how i DIDNT DO things. i wish i actually partied more tbh. now im lonely and am paying for all the times i shut myself inside rather than put myself out there bc i have no one and nothing. would have rather made mistakes
This CIA guy that I worked with would make an age progressed image of the person to their elderly age and have them put it on their refrigerator so they saw it everyday so they would be less “present me” “future me” and be more aware of serving their older self by delaying instant gratification via yes drugs, smoking, food, partying, but also just treating yourself with love and care as you would this older person perhaps. In any case I thought it was interesting but was like “nah I’m not gonna do it” *smokes another cigarette*
Yes. It could easily be about a lot of different life issues but ppl see its a "women" movie and suddenly universal themes don't exist. Addiction, transgenerism, any job whee you have to preform as a different person, anyone who feels two faced for any reason. Can all find important themes in this movie
"It gets harder and harder each time. To remember that you deserve to exist. To remember that you matter" is my go-to line from this movie. It encapsulates how obsessive society is with youth and disregards everyone as they get older.
It's not about becoming forgotten when we get older. It's young people feeling like the centre of the universe and when we get older we realise we're not that. Society is superficial, but our own minds are capable of intense self hate
This film really hit me emotionally because I couldn’t stop thinking about my own mother and how she’s become insecure overtime about how she looks due to her post-menopausal age. I look just like a younger version her and it breaks my heart to hear her say negative comments about herself while she says positive comments about my appearance at the same time. I wish I could show her this movie so she can see that she’s perfect the way she is and that she’s not alone in feeling like this but she doesn’t like scary movies and she would be repulsed by the body horror lmao.
Tell her to stop insulting your future self. That you plan to be gorgeous at every age, wrinkles and all. Tell her she's speaking to you, twenty years from now.
this is how my mom is too and it breaks my heart. luckily i think im getting the good ending to this movie bc she recently found a guy who thinks she’s the most beautiful girl in the world 🥹
What strikes me is how alone Elizabeth was, she had no friends or life beyond her show. Once she lost the show she lost all connection with others. The coffin and prison imagery hit hard.
I noticed that when I saw her having just the single dining chair in her kitchen. She doesn't expect even one visitor who would want to share a meal with her.
@macyburachio5831 yes she lives ina bizarre world where the only currency is beauty and attention. It's also the only reason for her to interact with anyone
I think the reason the matrix doctor offered Elizabeth the substance because he was his other self, of course he'd think it's the most amazing thing ever and it changed his life because he didn't have any of the ramifications. but when Elizabeth meets the doctor in the cafe he is more aware of how bad it actually makes you feel
I thought he may have been part of the organisation that created it as well, as I don't see a normal user of this drug (like Elizabeth) inspecting people's spines and calling them "perfect candidates". Also since people who would want to create something like this very likely would have issues they wanted to fix of their own. Plus they would probably work in a medical field or something related. And it would give another layer to why he stuck around to see Elizabeth collect her drug as well. But ultimately this was not important for the overall narrative so it wasn't explored deeper and I think that is fine. I think the film chose very well what parts to focus on.
Knowing that Dennis Quaid's character is some sort of not so subtle reference to Harvey Weinstein due to the first name of his character, it's really scary how accurate the portrayal of a manipulative producer. People think that the body horror was the gross part of the movie but the way Harvey eats is way more disgusting
I gotta say. Dennis Quaid himself is not exactly an exemplary person. I don't know if he was cast for that reason, as a sort of wink wink nudge nudge to the knowing public, but I still found it an odd choice
@@messatineI don't think casting Quaid was a coincidence, I don't really know much about him outside his acting aside him supporting Trump for some reason, I just admire how the script treat this Harvey character the way that is very uncomfortable and kinda scary than the actual body horror stuff. Also, Ray Liotta was supposed to play Harvey but he passed away before production began
Some people complained to me about that third act but I feel it was so important. To me, them yelling "monster" at her feels very much how society will literally react to women who have gone "too far" in trying to fit beauty standards with surgery. Really, how many times have I heard someone say "she looks like a monster now".
@@katlinath - Which is NOT courageous. Include women ALSO screaming it. Which is realistic how women can be extremely harsh towards/against each other. Only portraying men doing it is weak. Disappointing.
A small touch I really like was when Elisabeth was marking off the calendar, she wrote Sue's name in all of the days that she would be Sue, but only drew in Xs for the days she would be Elisabeth. Even in the beginning, the idea that any time she spends as her "less perfect self" was seen as a waste.
That's possibly intended to be the case, although crossing off "X" for days on calendars is a very common thing to do, in life and movies. It would seem childish to me if she wrote "Me" or something like that, and believe there was nothing deeper behind it as is.
At the beginning of the movie two people laughed at Demi Moore's "ugly butt" and that is when I knew the movie was reaching the wide audience it needs too.
Elizabeth’s body was beautiful, she was so beautiful in the movie it hurt me to see her hate herself. I don’t understand people who say she has ‘ugly anything’. They’re def addicted to porn.
I think one subtle bit I really like is the way birthmarks work with the substance, and Elizabeth having that small cluster of marks on her mid-torso reflects onto Sue. Then, when looking for a new sexy leotard to wear for her show, she picks one out that specifically covers up just that spot. It's like she's hiding the one imperfection on her new perfect body, and the one physical thing that actually links her to her original body.
OMG, I never even thought that that’s why she bought that specific leotard & I’m obsessed. I’ve watched it 3 times & go to certain scenes to rewatch. Thank you!
What makes that even sadder is that the substance is supposed to bring out the most “perfect” parts of you so it’s really tragic that Sue didn’t see the moles as so.
When Elisabeth stopped using the Termination shot on Sue and said "You're the only loveable part of me" I thought I would die on the spot from the tragedy of it.
The scene of the thwarted date with Fred messed me up so bad, man. I was blubbering like a baby, "but... but he thinks you're the prettiest girl in the world"🥺🥺 I'm sure people can argue that the message is "too obvious", but until 20 year olds stop thinking they need preventative Botox, we need this concept slapped into our skulls as much as we can take it, apparently
I didn't mind the message being too obvious, but there were bits of editing that really made me think the movie thought I was dumb and needed my hand held. Like when she sees the old guy in the cafe, sees the birthmark, then sees he has a number and then they still had to show us the younger version from the start of the film. I enjoyed it, but everyone overhyping it made me really notice these things. And the scenes lingering for so so long, I think they could have trimmed 50% of the scenes and the film would have been a lot tighter. Like a minute or two off the aerobics scenes, the cooking scenes, etc.
@@titoleon3101😂 Sorry, but it doesn't underestimate the audience. It hammers home every single aspect, because it's more painful to watch. Everything is overly obvious to stress the protagonists STILL don't get it. Don't you know how horror movies work? Like in real life. We all fricking know how we harm us, but we still proceed, because our society encourages us to do so. I just love the Dunning Kruger effect....
@@titoleon3101I would love to agree with you, but parts of the audience are dumb as hell. I heard so many people who said they thought the movie had no message and only served to show naked women. So.
@miskatonic6210 Its a movie, not a pamphlet. Good horror movies are entertaining, have a somewhat engaging plot, relatable characters and are concise. This is 2+ hours of the same frickin thing, no plot, no characters, just a message that ends up being comical by how childishly its delivered by the director. I get the joke, you just dont know how to tell it. I love media illiteracy.
The scene where sue beats the crap out of elizabeth is EXACTLY how I imagine beating myself up over mistakes look like. It's where I resonated with the most for this movie. I was literally like "oh shit. That's me. That's what I do all the time"
That scene with Demi getting ready for the date and how she kept changing her makeup until deciding not to go made me so sad because I've ...done this. Flaked on my friends because I thought I was too fat for my dress. :(
Yes ive cancelled too many outings in my life because i thought i looked gross or like you said too fat ... actually really sad so many of us experience this.
I really stopped caring now. I think i look good. But im also 4B so idk i have no one to impress whatsoever 😂 no desire to look good for someone other than myself ❤
When Sue and Elisabeth were both conscious at the same time, I found myself almost yelling at the screen "TALK TO EACH OTHER!" and for Sue to just be *aghast* at what she'd done now that Elisabeth was clearly a different being than herself. Because that's the thing with self-loathing: you'll do awful, terrible things to yourself you'd never do to another person. Like how you can live in squalor and only clean up for company coming over because they don't deserve to come into a dirty home (and you don't deserve a clean one). I also think it's interesting that by NOT having them talk, it feels like the movie is deliberately failing the Bechdel test. Now, I don't know how *that* movie would resolve, and I think the way it did end was just about perfect, but man, there was something in that moment that made me want that to be a different kind of breaking point that would really tie up the self-loathing theme.
I think Sue wasn't really "there" mentally. She was awake but not conscious. She was just a ball of anger and hatred, making animalistic grunts and k!lling Elisabeth. There is even a sequence after Elisabeth is dead, when it shows us the conscience returning to her.
Also during that sequence Sue sees the termination fluid that Elizabeth had used on her (which i don’t understand how that didn’t cause more problems just because she didn’t use all of it) so I think Sue just went straight into survival mode from that point on. I also think the director wanted to drive home the self hatred/loathing theme so then we get that drawn out scene of physically seeing Sue beat “herself” up.
this movie was such a good theater experience, no one else and the scenes of "The Activator" almost giving me a panic attack from how trippy and overwhelming it was on the big screen i need to see it in theaters again SO GOOD
Not me. Well the one in the climax perhaps. But when Elisabeth first took it and her back started to open, add in the trippy drug affects, I was having that scene in Scary Movie 2 play in my head: "This is yo brain on drugs! HEEE!"
A friend's husband called this movie pointless sensationalism and I can think of very few times I've respected his opinion less. Yeah dude, you told your pregnant wife she should work out more in front of friends... We all know you wouldn't get it.
@@AugustRxI think their opinion of “divorce him” doesn’t come just from that comment. It comes from what that comment means about him as a person. About how he sees his wife, his pregnant wife. Not as a wonderful person he loves going through the insane thing that is carrying their child, but as someone he is attracted to. As someone who needs to stay looking good (not being healthy. There is a difference.) and having the gall to say something like “You need to work out more” in front of other people while she is pregnant and creating a new life, that’s mortifying. Imagine if that’s how he treats his wife, if he thinks a movie bringing to center stage the body issues and sexualization women experience is pointless, think of how he values women as a whole. It’s not about what he said, it’s about what that says about him, its about how if he says that in front of others what does he tell her when they’re alone, it’s about how will he treat a potential daughter. Recognizing the little signs of misogynistic and vain views from comments like that is important, and not letting it fly is Also important.
I am just obsessed with the way Coralie directs her movies. The shot of Elisabeth sprinting down the hallway while dragging Sue’s body just made me laugh so hard for no reason.
This is the ultimate satirical body horror thriller film ever made! Demi Moore said in an interview that she was nervous getting naked in front of the camera, until Margaret Qualley, her co-star, gave her advice on how to do her nude scene as Qualley was naked onset as well, which was comforting to know.
I think the nurse 207 was still in the honeymoon phase of the substance. When they meet again in the restaurant he has had time to see the downside and has also abused the 7 day rule. He is trying to remind her that her original body is worthwhile and deserves care and respect.
I feel so bad for Elisasue, this was the version of Elizabeth/Sue that was the most happy with herself despite how deformed her body was and she got treated so horribly because of it
Elisasue was my favorite character because she still saw a bad bish in that mirror and had balls of steel to walk out on stage to space Odyssey music like nothing was wrong 😂
@@Wraiven22 I get that. I'm relatively short and chubby so I don't consider myself conventionally attractive, but even if I have doubts I still feel whole. I'm not ashamed of myself and don't really care about what people say.
As someone who struggles constantly with body dysmorphia the scene when Elisabeth accidentally sees her distorted reflection in the doorknob and decides not to go and then hates herself for it is so real similar situation happened so many times to me
14:25 I know multiple American hospital systems where 7 on/7 off is common for nursing, techs, PAs, and pharmacists, with doctor shifts being more complicated depending on department. So seemed perfectly normal to me
When she had the chance to go on the date with Fred I was so frustrated and in anguish because you'd love to yell at her, "YES GO ON THE DATE THAT IS THE GOOD CHOICE", but I knew she would not go, she would choose this other thing above this attempt at a "normal" life,,, it is like having a loved one suffer from an addiction/mental illness,, really powerful.
I think it was a good choice in terms of connecting with other people and having her own life, but I think it would've likely also been a bad choice. I think about the scene where the number is dropped into the muddy puddle and Fred doesn't bother writing her a new one and instead gives to her while it's still dripping. He also seemed to idolise her and put her on a pedestal for her beauty, he wasn't that different from the rest of the men in the movie (as they all put beauty before everything else) but he was kinder, and focused less on her age.
@@Amy-g2b Yes, I got the sense that he still doesn't think very highly of her ( would he have given Sue a muddy puddle note with his phone number), but thinks he now has a chance with her since she's older. Unlike back when they were in high school. And yes, she just wanted the ego boost. I want to be more optimistic, and think he just fucked up the note because of nerves, but there's no way Elisabeth was interested in him as more than a pick-me-up :(
@@Amy-g2b - Good point about not writing a new number after it dropped in the muddy water. Fred was different than the other men in the movie, though, in that he still found her so beautiful ( while others were moving on from her in idolizing "youthful" beauty ). That is profoundly different, which is why when she stayed at home and left him hanging on the date I felt so badly for her. She could have been very happy with him. Women love to be appreciated for their looks and of course for their inner beauty as well. Fred, for his warts and social clumsiness, is the guy who always found her beautiful, back in school before she became a star, and still now. That is a deeper appreciation that has some roots to it.
@@yltraviole - I share your optimism. He's not well-groomed, not handsome on her level, but is so smitten that I'm betting he isn't thinking straight. Not that he is disrespecting her deliberately. I'm also optimistic in guessing that she is operating out of a humble, open mind in wanting to go out on a date with him. He seems genuinely interested, not in a using manner like her old boss who's on to the next young lass. She seems like she not only wants/needs the ego boost, but is open to genuine love. Fred's not a leading man of Hollywood, but quite possibly a good man for her.
I'm 41 and despite being fairly happy with myself both physically and with where I am in life, have done the long, deep looks in the mirror and anguished over every flaw more and more as I get older. Literally, the 10 minutes just staring at yourself, wishing and wondering if I can do ANYTHING about this. I've cursed the reflection when I see my make-up settle into wrinkles and even though it looks good, I feel like garbage. I work in tech, where we still have an undercurrent of questioning the utility of middle aged to older engineers. This movie speaks to me and I don't need this movie to solve anything for me. I just need it to scream at the world and tell and show everyone how disgusting, horrible, futile, and unfair it can be. If someone gets it after this, great. If not, then at least I had the benefit of feeling SEEN, and Coralie Fargeat letting everyone know how fucked up this is. Love your love for this movie, girl. Spread the word.
Yes to all of this! I'm 41 as well and the scene where Demi was inspecting her body was..... rough. I remember vividly seeing a small indent in her butt and thinking, I have that! Demi's butt kind of looks like mine! To the criticism I've heard about the overuse of close up, sexualized shots on Margaret, I remember thinking how smart this was: I was falling into the trap in real time, wishing I looked like that again, then whiplashed into the sheer devastation of Demi's treatment toward herself and inability to find a new path forward. I'm a therapist and occasionally work with teens, and it's been odd to watch this movie and see again, in real time, the total inability to see the future. The willingness to sacrifice whatever in the long term for the excitement of the current, like the developmental inability to understand life at 40 when you're 18. Back in the day it might have been the beauty of tan skin (fake n'bake!) only to be in your 40s dealing with melanoma. But in this movie, Sue knows she's hurting "long term" self but she doesn't care - even when right in her face, it's worth the consequence because it's not in her immediate reality. This movie has layers on layers.
@@Okbutwhythoalice The US is filled with these prudish types that call any shot of an attractive woman's body sexualized. The French would laugh at this. The US will probably have to grow up and stop expecting Hollywood style PG-13 nonsense. Mainstream Hollywood is dying and their censorship rules mean nothing to places like mainland Europe. If you watch something from someplace else, don't expect them to care about what Hollywood has been doing for the last several decades. People will adjust, they always have before and they will again.
Elisasue absolutely broke my heart, man. They DO really go for the body horror and it absolutely hits with the symbolism, the tenderness she shows herself, her earnestness and desperation at the end. It's such a punch after the train wreck path she falls down, unable to stop even with every chance to get out of it. This movie's just crazy in a wonderful way. It's hard to watch but I think the horror aspects really help sell the story it's trying to tell.
The part with Sue using the substance to stay young longer makes me think about all those kids using things like retinol and "anti aging" techniques to prevent aging and wrinkles but are thought to end up being more likely to accelerate wrinkles. And on the same end the idea of people being so focused on staying "young" that they end up not actually being able to enjoy their actual lives until its too late. All those routines and products just for the possibility that you might stay looking "younger" for just a BIT longer. I also think its a fascinating thing that it was another person thaat had been using it telling her about the substance. Because while there's entire industries telling people these things, so many young people learn about it from each other in the end it feels.
I have watched countless reviews and thoughts on The Substance and yours is by far my favorite. You essentially interpreted the film the exact same way I did but were able to articulate it in a way I couldn’t. My brain thanks you.
I was always confused by plots like this. Like in Catwoman, replacing a beautiful older spokes person for a beauty cream with a girl barely 21. No, the older woman is SHOWING the effectiveness of the product! Similar in this, she's showing how her exercise can keep you fit even as you get older.
I agree from a consumer pov, but as a producer (in this case) the recasting makes sense. That show isn't really about fitness and health, it's more entertainment. Sue's version could even be classified as adult entertainment that's accessible to all audiences. And it's easier to exploit someone young and inexperienced, who you'll have to pay way less than an accomplished actress, for that
I'm not familiar with the plot line of this movie, but most people that exercise are younger. It skews very young at the gym and this has been consistent over decades. Using younger people for exercising will reach a far wider audience, young people aren't interested in what will keep an older person not looking so old. Means absolutely nothing to them.
It was just weird timing but hours before i sat down and watched this movie i had "curiosity googled" neck lifts and what they cost and involve, wondering if it might make me appear more youthful and fit. After watching this movie, i felt silly for even googling it. I dont need cosmetic surgery! I appreciate this movie for being validating of not only our vanity woes but also the reminder that caving to societal expectations is a choice, and we can choose no
At least you mention vanity as that is the main issue. The fact is, society doesn't care. These issues are in the head of the individual. Big companies like to profit off it by selling you things that can make you look younger. They make billions and they won't stop. They are among the biggest advertisers for Hollywood so Hollywood is making billions off it to. They make money putting fear into people like you. The medical industry is doing the same thing. They see dollar signs. The average person out there doesn't care one bit.
I love these videos because this is an example of a movie I will never watch because of all the grotesque imagery but it seems like a great movie message wise so I'm glad I could still experience it in a way that I am able to.
@@underthegardenwall I hate body horror as well, I'd be more likely to watch it if that wasn't a part of it. I do hope that some people will make more normal movies at some point.
Definitely picked up on the drug use analogy -- the friend who passed along The Substance to me said "it's like if Requiem For A Dream was a Cronenberg film." And yeah, the movie did feel a lot like it was smacking the audience's face into a mirror trying to get the message through -- but I agree with you that's the whole point!
22:44 Monstro Elisasue was fearless and alive, unlike the Parts to her Sum: Sue and Elisabeth. Could you imagine either Elisabeth OR Sue sitting at a cozy vanity, carefully and kindly curling their hair... slowing down in the moment to appreciate the sparkle of the earring. No! Monstro Elisasue, for her short life, was the only one of the three to even live.
Love it (in theory). I can't watch body horror. But it's so crazy how Elizabeth does all of that for a life she already lived. We will never be ready to not be Sue, either.
I almost didn’t watch this because I hate body horror as well and I will tell you even if you turn it off a few minutes before the end when the body horror gets bad it will be worth watching.
@@AmandaTheJediaw no that sucks! I think I kinda just assumed everyone was doing in-depth reviews from movie theatre screenings - just finished the video, amazing as always 💜
The whole time I was yelling at my screen "Demi you're 60 and you look better than me, STOP, LOVE YOURSELF GOD DAMMIT" and that's the entire point, isn't it. Someone gorgeous who aged amazingly to us, but the standards in Hollywood are so insane and unfair that she gets pushed aside.
But really, where does the problem lie? Why should an old person expect that they can be in their 20s forever? To blame society is really pathetic. If you want to blame anyone, blame the corporations trying to sell you on being young forever. Blame the cosmetic companies that spend millions to bombard you with ads thru the Hollywood owned media. Blame the medical industry for trying to profit off you by telling you they can make you look better. Blaming society is ridiculous because society doesn't care. You and your ego are the ones that want you to be young and beautiful forever.
It shouldn't even be about focusing on how well someone aged. It shouldn't matter at all how we look. We shouldn't be saying or thinking people aged well or badly.
I've loved the Elisasue part of the movie. That's what made me go from "pretty good movie" to "absolutely great". Don't understand why some people would have tuned off at that part.
A lot of people aren't into body horror and only like engaging with -weird- up to a point so I do personally understand why some people may not enjoy it, even if they can appreciate why it was done. It's funny the comment right under this is commenting that it's just stupid at the end. Opinions and tastes are fun!
@@AmandaTheJedi - The ending is very good, though a friend and I were debating the other night about the extent and length of the bloodbath-spray scene. He thought it was perfect, I don't. It went on far too long. I get the point and don't have a problem with it being bloody or spraying people exponentially. It's more like Cronenberg + DePalma + "Carrie" on steroids. To go on and on with little creativity and crafty editing to it, ebbs into an ironic level of self-absorption. ( Or is that the point: as much as she is fighting against the idolatry of beauty, she also is enslaved to her own narcissism. If I'm finally getting the point, then pardon my mental tardiness. I'll have more mercy on the ending plasma-blast. ) BTW: my friend and I both agreed that the film should have been edited down a good 30 minutes. Still, we both like and appreciate it much.
I really like your explanation of Sue + Elizabeth being the same person but looking at situations from different perspectives. I've seen some commentary saying that these were two separate personalities/identities, but agree that this goes against the logic of the film.
Actually for the young nurse taking every other week off, one of my coworkers does that. He works six 12 hour shifts in a row, then has the next eight days off since hospital work full time is 3 12 hour shifts with four days off per week. So it could work!
With that schedule in that particular field now I'm wondering if the old man is doing this more altruisticly, or it's literally the only way he can support himself. With that kind of schedule, his young hot self is always working, not much party time.
The Substance is easily my favourite horror movie of the year. Body horror aren't usually my thing, not because they're bad but i just couldn't watch it all that much but The Substance was the first ever body horror I experienced in a theater with a packed crowd and let me tell you, it's easily one of the greatest theater experience of my entire life. The last 30 minutes was so crazy, it was the first time where I accidentally screamed during the monster final form reveal. It was so gross, so creepy yet so well done. The fact that it was prostetics around the actress is so amazing. I hope it gets the award attention that it deserves 🙌
I couldn't take my eyes off the screen when they merged in one and went on stage. It was more sad and haunting than horrifying. I kept hoping she'd get help from someone, anyone but reality is not that perfect. Even at the end all I wanted to do was give her a hug and tell her she looked lovely. That was all she ever wanted.
Three stories that this brings to mind are Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, All About Eve, and a little bit of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. That is a strange combination.
I'm so interested in the connections people are making with other stories! I immediately thought of the picture of Dorian grey & appreciated the dif looming connotations that the huge photo of her had throughout the movie, so much of how they used the setting and themes was delightful! It was really revitalizing to get a narrative that felt clearly linked to the other works it drew from while still having a fully developed independent perspective. It was SUCH a fun viewing experience and I'm so stoked I caught the very last showing in theaters near me 😩
The driving home of the fact that both the matrix and other self are the same person reminds me of the original Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde book. Modern depictions usually have Hyde as a separate conscious from Jekyll when the novel is clear that Hyde is Jekyll, just all of his repressed urges and anger at the forefront. And in the novel, Hyde doesnt look like a monster as we would think of him now. He looks like a young man.
If the monster is the pieces of ourselves that we hide, that we feel don't fit it, it makes sense that it sincerely loves itself. With all the visual pressure we put on ourselves, loving who you truly are doesn't fit in, it doesn't make sense, we try to hide it until it disappears entirely.
This movie really helped me with my own body image issues. Watching how Elisabeth treated herself as Sue made me question if I would do that to myself, and when the obvious answer was “no” I started to question why I was so mean to myself when I don’t hold others to those same standards. So basically this movie was a solid 10/10 for me. I probably won’t watch it again but the message will stick with me.
God I wish I had people in my life that like horror movies. I wish I could show my friends this and see their reactions. This is 100% my #1 movie of the year and I’m glad I saw it in a packed theater that was reacting to all the gore, it was a great experience
A lot of my friends loved horror but mostly just horror that are very generic with cheap jump scares every 5 to 10 minutes, just the ones that are very mainstream unlike this one which is definetely not for everybody
Fargeat's movies are simple by design, but they're not shallow. Both her movies are modern parables; simple plots, one-note characters who are just flaws given form, minimal dialogue, a metaphorical setting, and end as cautionary tales. If these characters’ hyper-specific backstories drove the plot, we’d blame their fates on their individual experience, instead of critiquing the society that enabled them.
That is actually a fantastic point that I hadn't considered. I was unhappy about how shallow the movie was, but make it too deep and it explains away the message in some people's eyes.
All good satire is required to do is hold a mirror up to society.. that's a common criticism of NETWORK, that all the characters sound like Paddy Cheyefsky, and it's like yeah that's the point...
Society isn't doing anything. Cosmetic companies, sure. Medical industry, sure. They want to profit off your fear of aging. Society doesn't care one way or the other. You need to know who to blame.
I saw someone criticize how we don’t learn much about Elizabeth as a person, but that feels very in line with parables. They’re cautionary tales that are meant to illuminate these dangers in our lives. We are meant to be able to project onto the character, I think it’s incredibly deliberate.
im so glad a lot of the reaction from women/femme/queer people to this movie at the end is to just be kinder to yourself in your aging and personal journeys, that's why i love horror! truly a great genre to reflect current fears of society
as someone who is currently suffering from a spinal fluid leak…. I don’t think the substance will be the movie for me because it might just give me a crisis lmao
I am SO happy I saw this in theatres. One of my favorite horror movies to come out in the last few years. I laughed out loud, teared up, and had my jaw on the FLOOR throughout this movie and ended up walking away reflecting on my own journey of self love and my relationship to beauty and what it means to me. Absolutely brilliant film.
I usually can't handle body horror, and the last scene was still stomach turning, but over all this movie really spoke to me as a person with a disability. Might not have been the intended theming, but it came across to me
1)my mother has always been jealous of my looks(told me for years) which, what do you say to that? |:-/ 2)we're conditioned to feel imperfect so we don't know self-love which empowers everything.
Yeah I think I cut a something where I talked about how some of this can feel like a mother trying to live through a child because there's some definite parralels there, but I just rambled too much and cut it for time
Mother's like that.....will get divorced.....and then do everything they can to ruin your relationships because they can't stand you not being miserable like them. What you broads don't get.....is most guys want a chick with no makeup and definitely no fucking surgery!!!! The only dudes who want the lip filler bimbos....are metrosexual borderline homos who wear Prada and Gucci and shit....with the slit in the eyebrows and the man purses !!
Everytime I see my mom she complains about how wide my hips are because she wears a larger size of jeans than me and I'm skinnier (she was really jealous that I wore a size 4 and she's in a 6, which a size 6 isn't even bad...she used to be in 14s) and she complains that my butt sticks out more than hers- like I can't help it I got those genetics and she didn't 😂 She tried living vicariously through me as a child but that didn't work out and I just made her hate me for not being her lil porcelain doll for dress up and be a deluded mirror where she could live a normal childhood through me.
I drove home and crawled under a blanket after seeing this movie. Had to watch those Makoto Shinkai (Your Name, Weathering with you, Suzume) right after to level myself out. This was a trip.
I saw this movie on a complete whim. I saw a random ad for it on youtube. It was the first and only advertisement I saw for this movie. It looked so mysterious and intriguing that I clicked the link and was taken to its website advertisement. I instantly looked at my local movie theater to get a ticket. I saw it, and even though the whole lead up to me even seeing the movie was all complete chance, it is actually one of my favorite movies of all time. Everything about it I find fascinating and while it's surreal and disturbing it's also funny and powerful. I absolutely love this movie, and I hope it gets more attention and appreciation like this ❤️
@@titoleon3101please explain what is so dumb about it? I am curious. I feel like famous, successful headstrong women are very much a trigger for conservative men. This comment section is proving it.
I had to watch this video because I knew I would need to understand what to expect - as an ED survivor who still struggles with self-hatred at times. Now I have a huge trigger warning for the movie haha thank you for the video and the unexpected help, Amanda ♥
omg i _just_ finished the movie (took me two days to watch bc i couldn’t stomach how sad and grossed out it made me) so, quite literally, your review could not have come at a better time!! i watched the short version of it so girl i am Sat. thank you Amanda! 💖
That middle bit where the younger self was partying and pushing herself harder career wise was effecting her older selves body was particularly beautiful. Like the fear of what you will be when you are older, sitting alone in a room with only food for company, just fuels the burnout and desire to party hard while your young, but doing so takes its toll on your body later. And felt like it reinforced that Elizabeth *had* found the middle ground previously and taken care of her body and health, even if it didn't mean partying or a more successful career.
It seems to me a lot like the ship of Theseus paradox, which is the idea that if a ship gradually gets all of its parts replaced overtime time, is it still the same ship
This movie really reminded me of my mind when I was deep in anorexia. Like the constant focus on food-- the looking at it, analyzing it, binging. It's all that's on your mind!
There were so many shots that were very inspired by Requiem For A Dream, particularly the storyline of the older woman in Requiem who spirals into madness while trying to recapture the feeling of her youth. The editing & sound design in The Substance is top notch, seeing it in the cinema was an incredible experience ❤️🔥
8:24 Right when the ad for / Explanation of "The Substance" started, I got a real one for RUclips about a product for hair loss. They were so similar I literally just went "Oh my GOD"
Someone mentioned in other discussions of this movie that having nude dancers is not uncommon for French NYE celebrations. This may have been a nod to the director’s heritage.
People in the US need to understand this is made by a French person. Things in Europe do not follow Hollywood PG-13 ratings rules and they don't give a crap about them. People in the US need to stop expecting the entire world to make the same things they are used to seeing from Hollywood. Hollywood is in collapse and more and more things are coming from elsewhere and they will follow whatever rules they want to follow. They don't care if some Americans cry, means nothing to them. They spend a lot of time calling Americans crazy. By the way, this isn't just a nod to the director's heritage. This is a European film, it is not made by Hollywood. Most movies aren't made by Hollywood so they will look quite different in many ways. More American actors will probably be doing these films because Hollywood is making less and less and these people still want to work. There were times in prior decades where many European films were shown in US theaters. Eventually, Hollywood forced them all out and mostly only Hollywood films were shown. With Hollywood's decline, more and more European films will probably be shown in US theaters.
7 on / 7 off is a common nurse schedule in the US. You work 7 12hr shifts in a row followed by 7 days off. 84 hrs of work in a week. I don't know if doctors have the same shift options.
@@littlemissmello It's not a normal work day, you need people in hospitals at all hours and they can't go away if there's not someone coming to relieve them, so it's just really hard to make shifts that are equal for everyone and give enough rest between one and the other, it's the same with vacations, you're not allowed to get them whenever you want, and if you need a sick day it's complicated
@@rettiliani2492 i just googled it for my own country and here we do normal 8 hour days, also as nurses etc in hospitals. 40 hours a week-ish. America is a strange place.
@@littlemissmello in my country it varies on the hospital, were I used to studi we would do 12 hours shifts, day and night and get two days free, so alternating two days on two days off. And there's places that have even longer shifts, it all depends on the work
@littlemissmello I actually like the variation given to nurses. In a week you can work 5 8hr shifts, 4 10hr shifts, or 3 12hr shifts. It allows people to take longer vacations each week if they want. What I hate is the mandatory 36hr shifts that doctors do when in residence. I think it's why so many Americans die of doctor error. My mother (hospital VP) said it's because sometimes surgeries last that long and they have to be trained to be alert for that long. I think it's nuts.
Me and my friend also noticed that elizabeth has a yellow/red motif that follows her until the end (red blood, yellow cleaning machine)…not sure what it means but it was interesting to spot
@@thors03 it's not so easy actually, colors mean different things depending on the hue/saturation/luminosity of them and the context. a greenish yellow can mean nature, but can also mean illness. a warm yellow usually means happiness or energy. red is always a color of passion - violence, sex or life. i'm not sure what red means here, maybe it hints at the violence. the yellow i'd say is about the mental illness of the character.
This movie hit so hard for me. I developed anorexia at a very young age after being constantly sexualized by male peers, raped by an ex partner and others, bullied by female peers for my appearance, etc. I had begun to think my sex appeal and how hot and pretty I was was my only value as a woman, despite being only a young teen who should have been worried about my grades and what clubs I was going to sign up for. I went to my guidance counselor about the sexual harassment and all she told me was "boys will be boys," which made me feel so invalid about it all. I began to sexualize myself heavily at only 14 years old and by 16 had become underweight to the point my bones were showing and I was going several days without a meal. I was constantly in the hospital and my mom and therapist even looked into feeding tubes because my body had begun rejecting food(though luckily I had recovered before needing one). I remember the self hatred, the intrusive thoughts of cutting off parts of myself, not wanting to look in mirrors, pushing away my friends and family, until I felt more alone than ever. Then, I got better friends, a partner who didn't care about what I looked like, I gained some weight. I'm 18 now and I just recently hit 120 pounds. It scared me admittedly, I wasn't used to having a stomach or a little excess fat on my arms, but I feel healthier. I feel more whole. And I love how this movie shows all the ugliness and pain that comes with eating disorders, body dysmorphia, self hatred, and depression. I think many women and really anyone can benefit from a movie like this. To anyone going through what I did and is seeing this movie, it's okay. It will get better. Not everyone will care about your chest size or how hard they get when they look at you. Eat what you want, wear what you want, live it to the fullest. That's what I want to do. I don't want to look back at my younger self when I'm older with that same regret and loathing. Stay safe
I went to see this movie blind, only knowing it was body horror, and nearly walked out in the beginning (i love body horror, but medical stuff really gets to me). I'm glad I didn't, but I remember sitting in the lobby after calling my family because i needed to unpack the experience i just had immediately. i had tears in my eyes for half the movie due to how stressful it was for the whole ending. an amazingly tense watch, though i did have to go home and watch the og haunted mansion to unwind, so be prepared.
I totally understand why Coralie went as heavy-handed as she did. A Picture of Dorian Grey is over 100 years old and yet things are worse than ever today. Evidently subtlety isn't going to work for everyone. Coralie is saying it louder for the people in the back.
What's worse than ever? No one wants to age, but it's reality. The problem with some people is that they don't want to accept it. It is their problem and their problem alone. Blaming society is what losers do.
I started this video not having seen the movie yet. Didn't get further than 2 or 3 mins into it before literally pausing, starting a free trial for Mubi, going to watch the Substance, then coming back to finish this. When she is getting ready for her date it's heartbreaking! You can feel her self hatred radiating. I audibly begged her to just say to herself fuck Sue and just go on the date... Such a great movie. Even when you just know what's going to happen you can't help hoping she will save herself somehow.
Actually fyi there are many health care professions that do a full week on and full week off. That week on is brutal, 12 hour shifts every day but a week vacay every other so 🤷♀️
If that's the case, the old man is a very different case than Sue. He didn't want a second chance to live it up, he wanted to be able to keep doing a very difficult job. Hope he's enjoying his time in his old weeks.
I can't begin to explain how confusing this Hollywood culture stuff is as someone with autism who doesn't care how I look. For a more comedic take on the idea, you might enjoy Death Becomes Her.
The ending was actually really funny and cathartic 😂 seeing Dennis quaid’s character getting sprayed by the blood was the cherry on top of the cake lmao
Thanks to Surfshark for saving me when searching for some fresh activator serum! Go to surfshark.com/jedi for 4 extra months of Surfshark!
keep up your amazing explanations like these, love your channel
i knew the self hate was real when NEITHER one was really gentle or considerate of the other body when it was unconscious for 7 days. they don’t even give each other a blanket or a pillow it was so sad 😭😭
Whoa, I never even considered this... now that I think about it, I'd probably put my other self back in bed so at least they could wake up to something familiar
(but then I wouldn't even agree to take The Substance at all, so I guess that means nothing lol)
I thought about this over and over like why couldn’t they switch while laying on a bed so they could tuck their other self in after waking up? They really hated each other enough to instill a week’s (and more) worth of back pain from leaving them on that tile floor. It’s no wonder Elizabeth didn’t do anything while she was awake - Her back probably hurt like hell from the incision, lack of wound care, and horrible sleeping conditions Lolol
@ i agree i don’t think anybody that TRULY love themselves would take the substance so basically she was doomed from the start.
@@melaniehartlealso, because I think it was supposed to be a physical representation of the saying "skeletons in the closet" as well. They just hid away their other self like dirty secret
At first they do both tend to each other in the smallest way, each moves the hair of the other to what to me felt like a compassionate/self-compassionate move before...the rest of the movie lol
That scene with Demi getting ready for the date and how she kept changing her makeup until deciding not to go made me so upset, it was heartbreaking.
That hurt most of all because it was the most relatable for me. It's that feeling when you're getting ready and feeling good and then you look in mirror and bam! society's bullshit creeps in and just drags you down. I just kept thinking please go on the date knowing she ultimately wouldn't.
My buddy nailed it when he said “It’s like she’s trying to wipe the old off her face.” Stellar acting by Demi in a scene that is both still and chaotic.
@@MrUppertorso that's brutal 🥲
@@MrUppertorso I was afraid she'd rip her face off
So relatable. I was on vacation a few weeks ago and got dressed and did my makeup and felt so hot! Then I took my phone out to take a photo and every photo was absolutely hideous. Ugh aging both sucks and is awesome 😅
I like another thing someone pointed out. there's another message here about how our younger self abuses our older self. we do things that we know will hurt us in the long run because that's your older selfs problem. we smoke, drink do drugs party, work too hard, put our bodys at risk eat bad food blah blah, because right now it's good even if we know our future self has to pay for it. same thing here where the younger one, neglects the older one by breaking the rules, over staying and so on.
Wow! Thank you so much! I haven't thought about it, but I love your interpretation! It makes so much sense! :D
I'd like to put forward the other end of the seesaw/side of the same coin: the older you berating and envying what younger you HAD, what younger you COULD HAVE DONE, what you'd give to turn back time and slap yourself in the face to let younger you know they're only going to get worse from here.
@@giboi03 this is me. im close to my mid 30s and its not the bad mistakes i made like drinking that bother me, its how i DIDNT DO things. i wish i actually partied more tbh. now im lonely and am paying for all the times i shut myself inside rather than put myself out there bc i have no one and nothing. would have rather made mistakes
This CIA guy that I worked with would make an age progressed image of the person to their elderly age and have them put it on their refrigerator so they saw it everyday so they would be less “present me” “future me” and be more aware of serving their older self by delaying instant gratification via yes drugs, smoking, food, partying, but also just treating yourself with love and care as you would this older person perhaps. In any case I thought it was interesting but was like “nah I’m not gonna do it” *smokes another cigarette*
Yes. It could easily be about a lot of different life issues but ppl see its a "women" movie and suddenly universal themes don't exist. Addiction, transgenerism, any job whee you have to preform as a different person, anyone who feels two faced for any reason. Can all find important themes in this movie
"It gets harder and harder each time. To remember that you deserve to exist. To remember that you matter" is my go-to line from this movie. It encapsulates how obsessive society is with youth and disregards everyone as they get older.
Mine is “you’re the part of me people like”! They’re the two big quotes for me that unlock the movie
It's not about becoming forgotten when we get older. It's young people feeling like the centre of the universe and when we get older we realise we're not that.
Society is superficial, but our own minds are capable of intense self hate
I believe he says: "To remember that you _deserve to_ exist." Hits even harder...
@@efoxkitsune9493 Ah yeah. Thanks. I have now corrected my comment.
This film really hit me emotionally because I couldn’t stop thinking about my own mother and how she’s become insecure overtime about how she looks due to her post-menopausal age. I look just like a younger version her and it breaks my heart to hear her say negative comments about herself while she says positive comments about my appearance at the same time. I wish I could show her this movie so she can see that she’s perfect the way she is and that she’s not alone in feeling like this but she doesn’t like scary movies and she would be repulsed by the body horror lmao.
Maybe get put of her confort zone for this it will help
Tell her to stop insulting your future self. That you plan to be gorgeous at every age, wrinkles and all. Tell her she's speaking to you, twenty years from now.
.... are you living my life right now????
show her this video then!
this is how my mom is too and it breaks my heart. luckily i think im getting the good ending to this movie bc she recently found a guy who thinks she’s the most beautiful girl in the world 🥹
What strikes me is how alone Elizabeth was, she had no friends or life beyond her show. Once she lost the show she lost all connection with others. The coffin and prison imagery hit hard.
Seriously! Nobody came to check up on her or called her or anything 😭😭😭
I noticed that when I saw her having just the single dining chair in her kitchen. She doesn't expect even one visitor who would want to share a meal with her.
i just said the same thing
@macyburachio5831 yes she lives ina bizarre world where the only currency is beauty and attention. It's also the only reason for her to interact with anyone
This is really similar feeling to how everyone scatters when you're mentally or physically ill.
I think the reason the matrix doctor offered Elizabeth the substance because he was his other self, of course he'd think it's the most amazing thing ever and it changed his life because he didn't have any of the ramifications. but when Elizabeth meets the doctor in the cafe he is more aware of how bad it actually makes you feel
I thought he may have been part of the organisation that created it as well, as I don't see a normal user of this drug (like Elizabeth) inspecting people's spines and calling them "perfect candidates". Also since people who would want to create something like this very likely would have issues they wanted to fix of their own. Plus they would probably work in a medical field or something related. And it would give another layer to why he stuck around to see Elizabeth collect her drug as well. But ultimately this was not important for the overall narrative so it wasn't explored deeper and I think that is fine. I think the film chose very well what parts to focus on.
That's exactly how I interpreted it too.
@@camelliasinensis219 Yeah, I guess he's symbolic of the whole "deal with the devil" type thing.
@@camelliasinensis219That’s such a good point! Because no one else had a box at the delivery location except for the doctor.
Knowing that Dennis Quaid's character is some sort of not so subtle reference to Harvey Weinstein due to the first name of his character, it's really scary how accurate the portrayal of a manipulative producer. People think that the body horror was the gross part of the movie but the way Harvey eats is way more disgusting
I gotta say. Dennis Quaid himself is not exactly an exemplary person. I don't know if he was cast for that reason, as a sort of wink wink nudge nudge to the knowing public, but I still found it an odd choice
@@messatineI don't think casting Quaid was a coincidence, I don't really know much about him outside his acting aside him supporting Trump for some reason, I just admire how the script treat this Harvey character the way that is very uncomfortable and kinda scary than the actual body horror stuff. Also, Ray Liotta was supposed to play Harvey but he passed away before production began
He looks a LOT like Vince McMahon in this movie, too, and that guy is pretty damn bad in his own right.
@fl0k5ser EXACTLY!! The chewing was the grossest thing in the entire movie for me 😂
It's eerie because of Randy Quaid's escape and exile from Hollywood
Some people complained to me about that third act but I feel it was so important. To me, them yelling "monster" at her feels very much how society will literally react to women who have gone "too far" in trying to fit beauty standards with surgery. Really, how many times have I heard someone say "she looks like a monster now".
Exactly
also only MEN screamed monster, freak and violence upper them
@@katlinath was hoping someone else notices that
@@katlinath - Which is NOT courageous. Include women ALSO screaming it. Which is realistic how women can be extremely harsh towards/against each other. Only portraying men doing it is weak. Disappointing.
@@machtnichtsseimann except that's not the point / message of the movie.
A small touch I really like was when Elisabeth was marking off the calendar, she wrote Sue's name in all of the days that she would be Sue, but only drew in Xs for the days she would be Elisabeth. Even in the beginning, the idea that any time she spends as her "less perfect self" was seen as a waste.
That's possibly intended to be the case, although crossing off "X" for days on calendars is a very common thing to do, in life and movies. It would seem childish to me if she wrote "Me" or something like that, and believe there was nothing deeper behind it as is.
@@machtnichtsseimann She could have written, "Elizabeth." She didn't want to. I think that was intentional.
At the beginning of the movie two people laughed at Demi Moore's "ugly butt" and that is when I knew the movie was reaching the wide audience it needs too.
If my ass looks like that at 61 I'll be delighted!
@@TeleportUsToMars. Right like fr
I watched the movie recently and the thing is I have a very similar body to hers except ım only 17
Elizabeth’s body was beautiful, she was so beautiful in the movie it hurt me to see her hate herself. I don’t understand people who say she has ‘ugly anything’. They’re def addicted to porn.
@@ayeshabaugh6620so true bestie
The eyes "fighting" for space, with the two pupils really gave me chills. The visual storytelling of this movie is amazing.
I hear you!
If you like split pupils, give In the Mouth of Madness a go
I think one subtle bit I really like is the way birthmarks work with the substance, and Elizabeth having that small cluster of marks on her mid-torso reflects onto Sue. Then, when looking for a new sexy leotard to wear for her show, she picks one out that specifically covers up just that spot. It's like she's hiding the one imperfection on her new perfect body, and the one physical thing that actually links her to her original body.
Yes! I should have mentioned that. 100% another thing to show that -they.are.one- and yeah, covering them was such a nice touch!
OMG, I never even thought that that’s why she bought that specific leotard & I’m obsessed. I’ve watched it 3 times & go to certain scenes to rewatch. Thank you!
What makes that even sadder is that the substance is supposed to bring out the most “perfect” parts of you so it’s really tragic that Sue didn’t see the moles as so.
I thought the substance just brings you back to the way you looked like when you were in your prime? @@crystaldiaty9668
Or does it rearrange your DNA to be the best you could possibly ever look if all your DNA was aligned to look the most attractive?
I have Sue yelling "CON-TROL YOUR- SELF!!" In my head constantly
Me trying not to buy 3 basses
honestly tho like whenever i think im gonna do something stupid that plays in my head and like 9/10 times it actually works
What a crazy this words!
Same, it's such an amazing line read from Margaret!
Margaret gave me goosebumps
20:35 Demi Moore mentioned that it’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Death Becomes Her meets Jane Fonda workout video.”
I thought about death becomes her too. ha!
Ok, I thought I was alone in picking up on the "Death Becomes Her" vibes!!
@@ndawn90 You were definitely not alone. We all saw the parallels. No Isabella Rossellini though.
When I recommended the movie to my mom I told her it was "Death becomes her" meets "Carrie" if directed by Quentin Tarantino! 😂
With a healthy sprinkle of David Cronenberg for good measure too
When Elisabeth stopped using the Termination shot on Sue and said "You're the only loveable part of me" I thought I would die on the spot from the tragedy of it.
The scene of the thwarted date with Fred messed me up so bad, man. I was blubbering like a baby, "but... but he thinks you're the prettiest girl in the world"🥺🥺
I'm sure people can argue that the message is "too obvious", but until 20 year olds stop thinking they need preventative Botox, we need this concept slapped into our skulls as much as we can take it, apparently
I didn't mind the message being too obvious, but there were bits of editing that really made me think the movie thought I was dumb and needed my hand held. Like when she sees the old guy in the cafe, sees the birthmark, then sees he has a number and then they still had to show us the younger version from the start of the film.
I enjoyed it, but everyone overhyping it made me really notice these things. And the scenes lingering for so so long, I think they could have trimmed 50% of the scenes and the film would have been a lot tighter. Like a minute or two off the aerobics scenes, the cooking scenes, etc.
@@PigeonPie The movie underestimates the audience and is an overlong, nonsensical shockfest that undermines its own message.
@@titoleon3101😂
Sorry, but it doesn't underestimate the audience. It hammers home every single aspect, because it's more painful to watch. Everything is overly obvious to stress the protagonists STILL don't get it.
Don't you know how horror movies work?
Like in real life. We all fricking know how we harm us, but we still proceed, because our society encourages us to do so.
I just love the Dunning Kruger effect....
@@titoleon3101I would love to agree with you, but parts of the audience are dumb as hell. I heard so many people who said they thought the movie had no message and only served to show naked women. So.
@miskatonic6210 Its a movie, not a pamphlet. Good horror movies are entertaining, have a somewhat engaging plot, relatable characters and are concise. This is 2+ hours of the same frickin thing, no plot, no characters, just a message that ends up being comical by how childishly its delivered by the director. I get the joke, you just dont know how to tell it.
I love media illiteracy.
No kidding - the final scene with Elizabeth on her Walk Of Fame star was genuinely heartbreaking, even though it was also morbidly Creepshow'esque.
It really was sad. I wasn't expecting that ending. Not at all.
@thehitherto5348 it was really sad when they attacked the monster and she was like "it's me it's elizabeth"
"You can't escape yourself" is a warning, a blunt fact, and a ray of hope all in one.
How is it hope? Why would someone want to escape positivity? Isn't escape inherently going away from something negative?
@NotAnotherKuromi I personally feel like it's comforting to know you can always be yourself, as much as people try not to be or don't want to be.
The scene where sue beats the crap out of elizabeth is EXACTLY how I imagine beating myself up over mistakes look like. It's where I resonated with the most for this movie. I was literally like "oh shit. That's me. That's what I do all the time"
That scene with Demi getting ready for the date and how she kept changing her makeup until deciding not to go made me so sad because I've ...done this. Flaked on my friends because I thought I was too fat for my dress. :(
Been there... next time I'll just watch this movie lol
I used to do this when my acne was really bad
Really thought no one should see me like that
Missed out on quite a few things:(
Yes ive cancelled too many outings in my life because i thought i looked gross or like you said too fat ... actually really sad so many of us experience this.
Especially knowing the guy who asked her out told her he thinks she’s still just as beautiful as when they were young like??? :( It’s all in her head
I really stopped caring now. I think i look good. But im also 4B so idk i have no one to impress whatsoever 😂 no desire to look good for someone other than myself ❤
REMEMBER. YOU. ARE. ONE
This line has not left my head after seeing this movie
"It gets harder and harder each time. To remember that you exist. To remember that you matter" is my go-to line. It haunts me.
When Sue and Elisabeth were both conscious at the same time, I found myself almost yelling at the screen "TALK TO EACH OTHER!" and for Sue to just be *aghast* at what she'd done now that Elisabeth was clearly a different being than herself.
Because that's the thing with self-loathing: you'll do awful, terrible things to yourself you'd never do to another person. Like how you can live in squalor and only clean up for company coming over because they don't deserve to come into a dirty home (and you don't deserve a clean one).
I also think it's interesting that by NOT having them talk, it feels like the movie is deliberately failing the Bechdel test.
Now, I don't know how *that* movie would resolve, and I think the way it did end was just about perfect, but man, there was something in that moment that made me want that to be a different kind of breaking point that would really tie up the self-loathing theme.
Okay I didn't even realize but that's hilarious that this fails the bechdel test. Bloody amazing. What a movie
Deliberately failing the bechdel test is a perfect take tbh
I think Sue wasn't really "there" mentally. She was awake but not conscious. She was just a ball of anger and hatred, making animalistic grunts and k!lling Elisabeth. There is even a sequence after Elisabeth is dead, when it shows us the conscience returning to her.
Also during that sequence Sue sees the termination fluid that Elizabeth had used on her (which i don’t understand how that didn’t cause more problems just because she didn’t use all of it) so I think Sue just went straight into survival mode from that point on.
I also think the director wanted to drive home the self hatred/loathing theme so then we get that drawn out scene of physically seeing Sue beat “herself” up.
Justice for Monstro-Elisasue.
No choice but to stan ❤
She's the most beautiful person ever!
our girl deserved better
She was a sweetheart! She tried so hard,’z Even produced as extra breast in an effort to be hot like the other women on stage.
this movie was such a good theater experience, no one else and the scenes of "The Activator" almost giving me a panic attack from how trippy and overwhelming it was on the big screen
i need to see it in theaters again SO GOOD
YES HA HA YES HANNAH!
Not me. Well the one in the climax perhaps. But when Elisabeth first took it and her back started to open, add in the trippy drug affects, I was having that scene in Scary Movie 2 play in my head:
"This is yo brain on drugs! HEEE!"
A friend's husband called this movie pointless sensationalism and I can think of very few times I've respected his opinion less.
Yeah dude, you told your pregnant wife she should work out more in front of friends... We all know you wouldn't get it.
tell her to divorce him
@@AugustRxI think their opinion of “divorce him” doesn’t come just from that comment. It comes from what that comment means about him as a person. About how he sees his wife, his pregnant wife. Not as a wonderful person he loves going through the insane thing that is carrying their child, but as someone he is attracted to. As someone who needs to stay looking good (not being healthy. There is a difference.) and having the gall to say something like “You need to work out more” in front of other people while she is pregnant and creating a new life, that’s mortifying.
Imagine if that’s how he treats his wife, if he thinks a movie bringing to center stage the body issues and sexualization women experience is pointless, think of how he values women as a whole. It’s not about what he said, it’s about what that says about him, its about how if he says that in front of others what does he tell her when they’re alone, it’s about how will he treat a potential daughter. Recognizing the little signs of misogynistic and vain views from comments like that is important, and not letting it fly is Also important.
Pregnant women should exercise and everyone but them should keep their mouth shut about it.
@@pikminstan misery loves company
Take him out to the field
I am just obsessed with the way Coralie directs her movies. The shot of Elisabeth sprinting down the hallway while dragging Sue’s body just made me laugh so hard for no reason.
@gleesinnpiano2653 this movie was hilarious at moments I was crying from laughter
This is the ultimate satirical body horror thriller film ever made!
Demi Moore said in an interview that she was nervous getting naked in front of the camera, until Margaret Qualley, her co-star, gave her advice on how to do her nude scene as Qualley was naked onset as well, which was comforting to know.
That's actually really adorable!! 🥰
Which is strange because Demi Moore has done plenty of nude scenes, including full frontal scenes, throughout her career.
@@gracehiggins2666...but not at this age! * wink wink * (but for real, to have her body at 50 would just be stunning!)
@@val_wildling767 she is actually on her 60s...she is an actuall goddess.
@val_wildling767 she's actually 61 in real life which makes it even more amazing. She looks incredible
I think the nurse 207 was still in the honeymoon phase of the substance. When they meet again in the restaurant he has had time to see the downside and has also abused the 7 day rule. He is trying to remind her that her original body is worthwhile and deserves care and respect.
When he say, she has started eating you.
I feel so bad for Elisasue, this was the version of Elizabeth/Sue that was the most happy with herself despite how deformed her body was and she got treated so horribly because of it
It’s kind of like how once we’re truly “old” and “unattractive” to most people we stop giving a damn and live authentically without fear.
Elisasue was my favorite character because she still saw a bad bish in that mirror and had balls of steel to walk out on stage to space Odyssey music like nothing was wrong 😂
@@Wraiven22 I get that. I'm relatively short and chubby so I don't consider myself conventionally attractive, but even if I have doubts I still feel whole. I'm not ashamed of myself and don't really care about what people say.
It reminded me of The Elephant Man or Hunchback of Notre Dame a little bit. It was honestly satisfying when she spouted blood at everyone.
@@Sharpe1502 The head prosthetic especially looked a lot like the elephant man from Lynch's film
As someone who struggles constantly with body dysmorphia the scene when Elisabeth accidentally sees her distorted reflection in the doorknob and decides not to go and then hates herself for it is so real similar situation happened so many times to me
🌈💓
14:25 I know multiple American hospital systems where 7 on/7 off is common for nursing, techs, PAs, and pharmacists, with doctor shifts being more complicated depending on department. So seemed perfectly normal to me
Thank you!
😊😊😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅 15:23 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
Was look8ng for this comment. :)
When she had the chance to go on the date with Fred I was so frustrated and in anguish because you'd love to yell at her, "YES GO ON THE DATE THAT IS THE GOOD CHOICE", but I knew she would not go, she would choose this other thing above this attempt at a "normal" life,,, it is like having a loved one suffer from an addiction/mental illness,, really powerful.
I think it was a good choice in terms of connecting with other people and having her own life, but I think it would've likely also been a bad choice. I think about the scene where the number is dropped into the muddy puddle and Fred doesn't bother writing her a new one and instead gives to her while it's still dripping. He also seemed to idolise her and put her on a pedestal for her beauty, he wasn't that different from the rest of the men in the movie (as they all put beauty before everything else) but he was kinder, and focused less on her age.
@Amy-g2b yes and she was only considering going out with him for a needed ego boost, not because she's wanting to connect with another person
@@Amy-g2b Yes, I got the sense that he still doesn't think very highly of her ( would he have given Sue a muddy puddle note with his phone number), but thinks he now has a chance with her since she's older. Unlike back when they were in high school. And yes, she just wanted the ego boost.
I want to be more optimistic, and think he just fucked up the note because of nerves, but there's no way Elisabeth was interested in him as more than a pick-me-up :(
@@Amy-g2b - Good point about not writing a new number after it dropped in the muddy water. Fred was different than the other men in the movie, though, in that he still found her so beautiful ( while others were moving on from her in idolizing "youthful" beauty ). That is profoundly different, which is why when she stayed at home and left him hanging on the date I felt so badly for her. She could have been very happy with him. Women love to be appreciated for their looks and of course for their inner beauty as well. Fred, for his warts and social clumsiness, is the guy who always found her beautiful, back in school before she became a star, and still now. That is a deeper appreciation that has some roots to it.
@@yltraviole - I share your optimism. He's not well-groomed, not handsome on her level, but is so smitten that I'm betting he isn't thinking straight. Not that he is disrespecting her deliberately.
I'm also optimistic in guessing that she is operating out of a humble, open mind in wanting to go out on a date with him. He seems genuinely interested, not in a using manner like her old boss who's on to the next young lass. She seems like she not only wants/needs the ego boost, but is open to genuine love. Fred's not a leading man of Hollywood, but quite possibly a good man for her.
I'm 41 and despite being fairly happy with myself both physically and with where I am in life, have done the long, deep looks in the mirror and anguished over every flaw more and more as I get older. Literally, the 10 minutes just staring at yourself, wishing and wondering if I can do ANYTHING about this. I've cursed the reflection when I see my make-up settle into wrinkles and even though it looks good, I feel like garbage. I work in tech, where we still have an undercurrent of questioning the utility of middle aged to older engineers. This movie speaks to me and I don't need this movie to solve anything for me. I just need it to scream at the world and tell and show everyone how disgusting, horrible, futile, and unfair it can be. If someone gets it after this, great. If not, then at least I had the benefit of feeling SEEN, and Coralie Fargeat letting everyone know how fucked up this is. Love your love for this movie, girl. Spread the word.
Yes to all of this! I'm 41 as well and the scene where Demi was inspecting her body was..... rough. I remember vividly seeing a small indent in her butt and thinking, I have that! Demi's butt kind of looks like mine! To the criticism I've heard about the overuse of close up, sexualized shots on Margaret, I remember thinking how smart this was: I was falling into the trap in real time, wishing I looked like that again, then whiplashed into the sheer devastation of Demi's treatment toward herself and inability to find a new path forward. I'm a therapist and occasionally work with teens, and it's been odd to watch this movie and see again, in real time, the total inability to see the future. The willingness to sacrifice whatever in the long term for the excitement of the current, like the developmental inability to understand life at 40 when you're 18. Back in the day it might have been the beauty of tan skin (fake n'bake!) only to be in your 40s dealing with melanoma. But in this movie, Sue knows she's hurting "long term" self but she doesn't care - even when right in her face, it's worth the consequence because it's not in her immediate reality. This movie has layers on layers.
@@Okbutwhythoalice heavy on the layers
@@Okbutwhythoalice The US is filled with these prudish types that call any shot of an attractive woman's body sexualized. The French would laugh at this. The US will probably have to grow up and stop expecting Hollywood style PG-13 nonsense. Mainstream Hollywood is dying and their censorship rules mean nothing to places like mainland Europe. If you watch something from someplace else, don't expect them to care about what Hollywood has been doing for the last several decades. People will adjust, they always have before and they will again.
This is an excellent take away from this film and really spells out why it is, in fact, a movie of substance.
Elisasue absolutely broke my heart, man. They DO really go for the body horror and it absolutely hits with the symbolism, the tenderness she shows herself, her earnestness and desperation at the end. It's such a punch after the train wreck path she falls down, unable to stop even with every chance to get out of it.
This movie's just crazy in a wonderful way. It's hard to watch but I think the horror aspects really help sell the story it's trying to tell.
The part with Sue using the substance to stay young longer makes me think about all those kids using things like retinol and "anti aging" techniques to prevent aging and wrinkles but are thought to end up being more likely to accelerate wrinkles. And on the same end the idea of people being so focused on staying "young" that they end up not actually being able to enjoy their actual lives until its too late. All those routines and products just for the possibility that you might stay looking "younger" for just a BIT longer.
I also think its a fascinating thing that it was another person thaat had been using it telling her about the substance. Because while there's entire industries telling people these things, so many young people learn about it from each other in the end it feels.
I’ve had two people tell me I should be getting preventative Botox 😅
True. Plus, those products are designed to make 50-40 year old skin look 40~30. It does not make 20 year olds look 10, it makes them look 30 too.
Retinol was created for treating acne and skin cancer get your facts right
@@LeafyKnope nope completely wrong since it's created for acme and skin cancer maybe stop yapping
I have watched countless reviews and thoughts on The Substance and yours is by far my favorite. You essentially interpreted the film the exact same way I did but were able to articulate it in a way I couldn’t. My brain thanks you.
7:58 Love how the USB stick is folded in grid paper, matching the grid of iconic Elizabeth's bathroom tile.
Great catch!
I was always confused by plots like this. Like in Catwoman, replacing a beautiful older spokes person for a beauty cream with a girl barely 21. No, the older woman is SHOWING the effectiveness of the product! Similar in this, she's showing how her exercise can keep you fit even as you get older.
I agree from a consumer pov, but as a producer (in this case) the recasting makes sense. That show isn't really about fitness and health, it's more entertainment. Sue's version could even be classified as adult entertainment that's accessible to all audiences. And it's easier to exploit someone young and inexperienced, who you'll have to pay way less than an accomplished actress, for that
I'm not familiar with the plot line of this movie, but most people that exercise are younger. It skews very young at the gym and this has been consistent over decades. Using younger people for exercising will reach a far wider audience, young people aren't interested in what will keep an older person not looking so old. Means absolutely nothing to them.
The tooth, nail, ear bit was straight from The Fly! This movie is a giant love letter to Cronenberg.
The fly in the glass at the beginning too lol
It was just weird timing but hours before i sat down and watched this movie i had "curiosity googled" neck lifts and what they cost and involve, wondering if it might make me appear more youthful and fit. After watching this movie, i felt silly for even googling it. I dont need cosmetic surgery! I appreciate this movie for being validating of not only our vanity woes but also the reminder that caving to societal expectations is a choice, and we can choose no
Don't feel silly at all!
At least you mention vanity as that is the main issue. The fact is, society doesn't care. These issues are in the head of the individual. Big companies like to profit off it by selling you things that can make you look younger. They make billions and they won't stop. They are among the biggest advertisers for Hollywood so Hollywood is making billions off it to. They make money putting fear into people like you. The medical industry is doing the same thing. They see dollar signs. The average person out there doesn't care one bit.
The shrimp scene really gave Denethor eating that tomato in Return of the King
I love these videos because this is an example of a movie I will never watch because of all the grotesque imagery but it seems like a great movie message wise so I'm glad I could still experience it in a way that I am able to.
Same, I'm only watching reviews because the message seems great but I can't watch the body horror stuff lol
@@underthegardenwall I hate body horror as well, I'd be more likely to watch it if that wasn't a part of it. I do hope that some people will make more normal movies at some point.
Definitely picked up on the drug use analogy -- the friend who passed along The Substance to me said "it's like if Requiem For A Dream was a Cronenberg film."
And yeah, the movie did feel a lot like it was smacking the audience's face into a mirror trying to get the message through -- but I agree with you that's the whole point!
Agreed, people certainly aren't subtle about commenting on others bodies. Why should the movie be?
It really made me think about Requiem, especially for the editing and the score choices, it made me think it was slightly inspired by it.
22:44 Monstro Elisasue was fearless and alive, unlike the Parts to her Sum: Sue and Elisabeth. Could you imagine either Elisabeth OR Sue sitting at a cozy vanity, carefully and kindly curling their hair... slowing down in the moment to appreciate the sparkle of the earring. No! Monstro Elisasue, for her short life, was the only one of the three to even live.
I work at a movie theater, the best way I described the ending was if black swan, Carrie, and the human centipede put together.
Yes! I def thought of Black Swan too
A little bit of Society.
I thought, "Death becomes her" meets "Carrie" If directed by Quentin Tarantino...😂
I haven't watched it, but the premise of this movie kinda reminds me of Helter Skelter (the Japanese movie based on the manga) as well.
Love it (in theory). I can't watch body horror. But it's so crazy how Elizabeth does all of that for a life she already lived. We will never be ready to not be Sue, either.
I might watch it but I watched this first just to see if I'd be able to handle it (sorry Amanda). Still not sure...
You've got to watch it! Skip pass the body horror parts. It's only a few!
I almost didn’t watch this because I hate body horror as well and I will tell you even if you turn it off a few minutes before the end when the body horror gets bad it will be worth watching.
I feel like I’ve been seeing reviews for this for weeks but I’ve been sitting here like “NUH. I am waiting for Amanda” anyway thankyouuuu
It leaked digitally a few weeks back and I just didn't feel comfortable covering it with full footage until it was available legally
@@AmandaTheJediaw no that sucks! I think I kinda just assumed everyone was doing in-depth reviews from movie theatre screenings - just finished the video, amazing as always 💜
like the movie being leaked sucks I very much support the choice to wait!!
The whole time I was yelling at my screen "Demi you're 60 and you look better than me, STOP, LOVE YOURSELF GOD DAMMIT" and that's the entire point, isn't it. Someone gorgeous who aged amazingly to us, but the standards in Hollywood are so insane and unfair that she gets pushed aside.
But really, where does the problem lie? Why should an old person expect that they can be in their 20s forever? To blame society is really pathetic. If you want to blame anyone, blame the corporations trying to sell you on being young forever. Blame the cosmetic companies that spend millions to bombard you with ads thru the Hollywood owned media. Blame the medical industry for trying to profit off you by telling you they can make you look better. Blaming society is ridiculous because society doesn't care. You and your ego are the ones that want you to be young and beautiful forever.
It shouldn't even be about focusing on how well someone aged. It shouldn't matter at all how we look. We shouldn't be saying or thinking people aged well or badly.
I've loved the Elisasue part of the movie. That's what made me go from "pretty good movie" to "absolutely great". Don't understand why some people would have tuned off at that part.
A lot of people aren't into body horror and only like engaging with -weird- up to a point so I do personally understand why some people may not enjoy it, even if they can appreciate why it was done. It's funny the comment right under this is commenting that it's just stupid at the end. Opinions and tastes are fun!
@@AmandaTheJedi - The ending is very good, though a friend and I were debating the other night about the extent and length of the bloodbath-spray scene. He thought it was perfect, I don't. It went on far too long. I get the point and don't have a problem with it being bloody or spraying people exponentially. It's more like Cronenberg + DePalma + "Carrie" on steroids. To go on and on with little creativity and crafty editing to it, ebbs into an ironic level of self-absorption. ( Or is that the point: as much as she is fighting against the idolatry of beauty, she also is enslaved to her own narcissism. If I'm finally getting the point, then pardon my mental tardiness. I'll have more mercy on the ending plasma-blast. ) BTW: my friend and I both agreed that the film should have been edited down a good 30 minutes. Still, we both like and appreciate it much.
I really like your explanation of Sue + Elizabeth being the same person but looking at situations from different perspectives. I've seen some commentary saying that these were two separate personalities/identities, but agree that this goes against the logic of the film.
Actually for the young nurse taking every other week off, one of my coworkers does that. He works six 12 hour shifts in a row, then has the next eight days off since hospital work full time is 3 12 hour shifts with four days off per week. So it could work!
With that schedule in that particular field now I'm wondering if the old man is doing this more altruisticly, or it's literally the only way he can support himself.
With that kind of schedule, his young hot self is always working, not much party time.
The Substance is easily my favourite horror movie of the year. Body horror aren't usually my thing, not because they're bad but i just couldn't watch it all that much but The Substance was the first ever body horror I experienced in a theater with a packed crowd and let me tell you, it's easily one of the greatest theater experience of my entire life. The last 30 minutes was so crazy, it was the first time where I accidentally screamed during the monster final form reveal. It was so gross, so creepy yet so well done. The fact that it was prostetics around the actress is so amazing. I hope it gets the award attention that it deserves 🙌
I couldn't take my eyes off the screen when they merged in one and went on stage. It was more sad and haunting than horrifying. I kept hoping she'd get help from someone, anyone but reality is not that perfect. Even at the end all I wanted to do was give her a hug and tell her she looked lovely. That was all she ever wanted.
Honestly, also the opening of the movie when the guy drops his food feels like a hint to the ending. Something I wanted to point out.
Three stories that this brings to mind are Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, All About Eve, and a little bit of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. That is a strange combination.
I'm so interested in the connections people are making with other stories! I immediately thought of the picture of Dorian grey & appreciated the dif looming connotations that the huge photo of her had throughout the movie, so much of how they used the setting and themes was delightful! It was really revitalizing to get a narrative that felt clearly linked to the other works it drew from while still having a fully developed independent perspective. It was SUCH a fun viewing experience and I'm so stoked I caught the very last showing in theaters near me 😩
And that episode of Rick and Morty w tiny Rick
I definitely also felt a bit of Sunset Boulevard, as well.
what about the fly man
This is the first time I have seen someone mention All About Eve and it is so spot on!
The driving home of the fact that both the matrix and other self are the same person reminds me of the original Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde book. Modern depictions usually have Hyde as a separate conscious from Jekyll when the novel is clear that Hyde is Jekyll, just all of his repressed urges and anger at the forefront.
And in the novel, Hyde doesnt look like a monster as we would think of him now. He looks like a young man.
I cried watching the scene where sue kicks elisabeth over and over, how can someone hate themselves this much
If the monster is the pieces of ourselves that we hide, that we feel don't fit it, it makes sense that it sincerely loves itself. With all the visual pressure we put on ourselves, loving who you truly are doesn't fit in, it doesn't make sense, we try to hide it until it disappears entirely.
This movie really helped me with my own body image issues. Watching how Elisabeth treated herself as Sue made me question if I would do that to myself, and when the obvious answer was “no” I started to question why I was so mean to myself when I don’t hold others to those same standards.
So basically this movie was a solid 10/10 for me. I probably won’t watch it again but the message will stick with me.
God I wish I had people in my life that like horror movies. I wish I could show my friends this and see their reactions. This is 100% my #1 movie of the year and I’m glad I saw it in a packed theater that was reacting to all the gore, it was a great experience
A lot of my friends loved horror but mostly just horror that are very generic with cheap jump scares every 5 to 10 minutes, just the ones that are very mainstream unlike this one which is definetely not for everybody
Fargeat's movies are simple by design, but they're not shallow. Both her movies are modern parables; simple plots, one-note characters who are just flaws given form, minimal dialogue, a metaphorical setting, and end as cautionary tales. If these characters’ hyper-specific backstories drove the plot, we’d blame their fates on their individual experience, instead of critiquing the society that enabled them.
That is actually a fantastic point that I hadn't considered. I was unhappy about how shallow the movie was, but make it too deep and it explains away the message in some people's eyes.
@ Yay! I need to consult Fargeat’s interviews, because this is just my interpretation based on the movies themselves.
All good satire is required to do is hold a mirror up to society.. that's a common criticism of NETWORK, that all the characters sound like Paddy Cheyefsky, and it's like yeah that's the point...
Society isn't doing anything. Cosmetic companies, sure. Medical industry, sure. They want to profit off your fear of aging. Society doesn't care one way or the other. You need to know who to blame.
I saw someone criticize how we don’t learn much about Elizabeth as a person, but that feels very in line with parables. They’re cautionary tales that are meant to illuminate these dangers in our lives. We are meant to be able to project onto the character, I think it’s incredibly deliberate.
im so glad a lot of the reaction from women/femme/queer people to this movie at the end is to just be kinder to yourself in your aging and personal journeys, that's why i love horror! truly a great genre to reflect current fears of society
“I’ve been waiting for this one, turn it up!” - Missy Elliot
The Amandela effect is strong because I could swear I had already watched a video of her covering The Substance 😮😮😮
I talk about it in my TIFF video so you might be thinking of that aha
Samesies, I saw the movie today and was like time to rewatch the review oh wait I haven't seen this video😅
as someone who is currently suffering from a spinal fluid leak…. I don’t think the substance will be the movie for me because it might just give me a crisis lmao
😧 omg!
I am SO happy I saw this in theatres. One of my favorite horror movies to come out in the last few years. I laughed out loud, teared up, and had my jaw on the FLOOR throughout this movie and ended up walking away reflecting on my own journey of self love and my relationship to beauty and what it means to me. Absolutely brilliant film.
I usually can't handle body horror, and the last scene was still stomach turning, but over all this movie really spoke to me as a person with a disability. Might not have been the intended theming, but it came across to me
1)my mother has always been jealous of my looks(told me for years) which, what do you say to that? |:-/
2)we're conditioned to feel imperfect so we don't know self-love which empowers everything.
Yeah I think I cut a something where I talked about how some of this can feel like a mother trying to live through a child because there's some definite parralels there, but I just rambled too much and cut it for time
Mother's like that.....will get divorced.....and then do everything they can to ruin your relationships because they can't stand you not being miserable like them. What you broads don't get.....is most guys want a chick with no makeup and definitely no fucking surgery!!!! The only dudes who want the lip filler bimbos....are metrosexual borderline homos who wear Prada and Gucci and shit....with the slit in the eyebrows and the man purses !!
@@AmandaTheJedi it was one of the most important themes imo
Everytime I see my mom she complains about how wide my hips are because she wears a larger size of jeans than me and I'm skinnier (she was really jealous that I wore a size 4 and she's in a 6, which a size 6 isn't even bad...she used to be in 14s) and she complains that my butt sticks out more than hers- like I can't help it I got those genetics and she didn't 😂
She tried living vicariously through me as a child but that didn't work out and I just made her hate me for not being her lil porcelain doll for dress up and be a deluded mirror where she could live a normal childhood through me.
@@benamisai-kham5892 Mine was the opposite, kept trying to mold me.
The reason I found this movie so powerful was that it really makes you feel for the main character - as she gets dragged further and further into hell
I wanted to stand up and applaud and yell "BRAVO!" during the blood gushing, like in Addams Family.
This movie as gruesome as it was really changed how i view myself.
They created something so insane, disturbing, but it’s also so important.
After watching this movie for the first time last week I’m officially that “yes yes sicko” movie nerd of the friend group
I drove home and crawled under a blanket after seeing this movie. Had to watch those Makoto Shinkai (Your Name, Weathering with you, Suzume) right after to level myself out. This was a trip.
I saw this movie on a complete whim. I saw a random ad for it on youtube. It was the first and only advertisement I saw for this movie. It looked so mysterious and intriguing that I clicked the link and was taken to its website advertisement. I instantly looked at my local movie theater to get a ticket.
I saw it, and even though the whole lead up to me even seeing the movie was all complete chance, it is actually one of my favorite movies of all time.
Everything about it I find fascinating and while it's surreal and disturbing it's also funny and powerful. I absolutely love this movie, and I hope it gets more attention and appreciation like this ❤️
I was laughing hysterically by the end. I might be a little twisted but those effects were absolutely awesome and I was fully entertained.
It was. I was laughing too.😊
I was laughing so hard I was crying, absolutely amazed, then I was cheering when the blood rain started! 😂
I was laughing but because how dumb it was.
@@titoleon3101please explain what is so dumb about it? I am curious. I feel like famous, successful headstrong women are very much a trigger for conservative men. This comment section is proving it.
@@Qu33nMary444 OMG SAME 🤣 I feel like this flick could have really fun 'rocky horror' esque screenings down the road.
I love the nod to The Re-animator with the Substance being the same neon green
I had to watch this video because I knew I would need to understand what to expect - as an ED survivor who still struggles with self-hatred at times. Now I have a huge trigger warning for the movie haha thank you for the video and the unexpected help, Amanda ♥
omg i _just_ finished the movie (took me two days to watch bc i couldn’t stomach how sad and grossed out it made me) so, quite literally, your review could not have come at a better time!! i watched the short version of it so girl i am Sat. thank you Amanda! 💖
You're the reason I made a serious effort to see this in a theater and I'm SO GLAD I DID
That middle bit where the younger self was partying and pushing herself harder career wise was effecting her older selves body was particularly beautiful.
Like the fear of what you will be when you are older, sitting alone in a room with only food for company, just fuels the burnout and desire to party hard while your young, but doing so takes its toll on your body later. And felt like it reinforced that Elizabeth *had* found the middle ground previously and taken care of her body and health, even if it didn't mean partying or a more successful career.
It seems to me a lot like the ship of Theseus paradox, which is the idea that if a ship gradually gets all of its parts replaced overtime time, is it still the same ship
This movie really reminded me of my mind when I was deep in anorexia. Like the constant focus on food-- the looking at it, analyzing it, binging. It's all that's on your mind!
Also the substance branding reminds me of equinox so much lol
There were so many shots that were very inspired by Requiem For A Dream, particularly the storyline of the older woman in Requiem who spirals into madness while trying to recapture the feeling of her youth.
The editing & sound design in The Substance is top notch, seeing it in the cinema was an incredible experience ❤️🔥
True!
I was thinking that too! That used to be my fav movie before Dune came out
8:24 Right when the ad for / Explanation of "The Substance" started, I got a real one for RUclips about a product for hair loss. They were so similar I literally just went "Oh my GOD"
Someone mentioned in other discussions of this movie that having nude dancers is not uncommon for French NYE celebrations. This may have been a nod to the director’s heritage.
People in the US need to understand this is made by a French person. Things in Europe do not follow Hollywood PG-13 ratings rules and they don't give a crap about them. People in the US need to stop expecting the entire world to make the same things they are used to seeing from Hollywood. Hollywood is in collapse and more and more things are coming from elsewhere and they will follow whatever rules they want to follow. They don't care if some Americans cry, means nothing to them. They spend a lot of time calling Americans crazy.
By the way, this isn't just a nod to the director's heritage. This is a European film, it is not made by Hollywood. Most movies aren't made by Hollywood so they will look quite different in many ways. More American actors will probably be doing these films because Hollywood is making less and less and these people still want to work. There were times in prior decades where many European films were shown in US theaters. Eventually, Hollywood forced them all out and mostly only Hollywood films were shown. With Hollywood's decline, more and more European films will probably be shown in US theaters.
12:59 It's the gayss...no It's GAZE😂
7 on / 7 off is a common nurse schedule in the US. You work 7 12hr shifts in a row followed by 7 days off. 84 hrs of work in a week. I don't know if doctors have the same shift options.
84 hours is crazy. That's double full time where I am from. Why not just 42 hours and have normal days off like everyone?
@@littlemissmello It's not a normal work day, you need people in hospitals at all hours and they can't go away if there's not someone coming to relieve them, so it's just really hard to make shifts that are equal for everyone and give enough rest between one and the other, it's the same with vacations, you're not allowed to get them whenever you want, and if you need a sick day it's complicated
@@rettiliani2492 i just googled it for my own country and here we do normal 8 hour days, also as nurses etc in hospitals. 40 hours a week-ish. America is a strange place.
@@littlemissmello in my country it varies on the hospital, were I used to studi we would do 12 hours shifts, day and night and get two days free, so alternating two days on two days off. And there's places that have even longer shifts, it all depends on the work
@littlemissmello I actually like the variation given to nurses. In a week you can work 5 8hr shifts, 4 10hr shifts, or 3 12hr shifts. It allows people to take longer vacations each week if they want. What I hate is the mandatory 36hr shifts that doctors do when in residence. I think it's why so many Americans die of doctor error.
My mother (hospital VP) said it's because sometimes surgeries last that long and they have to be trained to be alert for that long. I think it's nuts.
Re: The topless showgirls: I assume this takes place in the same universe as Showgirls.
Me and my friend also noticed that elizabeth has a yellow/red motif that follows her until the end (red blood, yellow cleaning machine)…not sure what it means but it was interesting to spot
those colours are apparently meant to stimulate hunger, that’s why the McDonald’s logo uses them. first thing that came to mind
@@thors03 ohh that’s so cool
@@thors03 it's not so easy actually, colors mean different things depending on the hue/saturation/luminosity of them and the context. a greenish yellow can mean nature, but can also mean illness. a warm yellow usually means happiness or energy. red is always a color of passion - violence, sex or life. i'm not sure what red means here, maybe it hints at the violence. the yellow i'd say is about the mental illness of the character.
This movie hit so hard for me. I developed anorexia at a very young age after being constantly sexualized by male peers, raped by an ex partner and others, bullied by female peers for my appearance, etc. I had begun to think my sex appeal and how hot and pretty I was was my only value as a woman, despite being only a young teen who should have been worried about my grades and what clubs I was going to sign up for. I went to my guidance counselor about the sexual harassment and all she told me was "boys will be boys," which made me feel so invalid about it all. I began to sexualize myself heavily at only 14 years old and by 16 had become underweight to the point my bones were showing and I was going several days without a meal. I was constantly in the hospital and my mom and therapist even looked into feeding tubes because my body had begun rejecting food(though luckily I had recovered before needing one). I remember the self hatred, the intrusive thoughts of cutting off parts of myself, not wanting to look in mirrors, pushing away my friends and family, until I felt more alone than ever. Then, I got better friends, a partner who didn't care about what I looked like, I gained some weight. I'm 18 now and I just recently hit 120 pounds. It scared me admittedly, I wasn't used to having a stomach or a little excess fat on my arms, but I feel healthier. I feel more whole. And I love how this movie shows all the ugliness and pain that comes with eating disorders, body dysmorphia, self hatred, and depression. I think many women and really anyone can benefit from a movie like this. To anyone going through what I did and is seeing this movie, it's okay. It will get better. Not everyone will care about your chest size or how hard they get when they look at you. Eat what you want, wear what you want, live it to the fullest. That's what I want to do. I don't want to look back at my younger self when I'm older with that same regret and loathing. Stay safe
Thank you for sharing your story. Wishing you all the best
I went to see this movie blind, only knowing it was body horror, and nearly walked out in the beginning (i love body horror, but medical stuff really gets to me). I'm glad I didn't, but I remember sitting in the lobby after calling my family because i needed to unpack the experience i just had immediately. i had tears in my eyes for half the movie due to how stressful it was for the whole ending. an amazingly tense watch, though i did have to go home and watch the og haunted mansion to unwind, so be prepared.
I totally understand why Coralie went as heavy-handed as she did. A Picture of Dorian Grey is over 100 years old and yet things are worse than ever today. Evidently subtlety isn't going to work for everyone. Coralie is saying it louder for the people in the back.
What's worse than ever? No one wants to age, but it's reality. The problem with some people is that they don't want to accept it. It is their problem and their problem alone. Blaming society is what losers do.
I started this video not having seen the movie yet. Didn't get further than 2 or 3 mins into it before literally pausing, starting a free trial for Mubi, going to watch the Substance, then coming back to finish this. When she is getting ready for her date it's heartbreaking! You can feel her self hatred radiating. I audibly begged her to just say to herself fuck Sue and just go on the date... Such a great movie. Even when you just know what's going to happen you can't help hoping she will save herself somehow.
Random, but as a nurse that has done slide work. I’ve done contracts where we work 6 on and off 8.. so nurses could theoretically do it
Actually fyi there are many health care professions that do a full week on and full week off. That week on is brutal, 12 hour shifts every day but a week vacay every other so 🤷♀️
If that's the case, the old man is a very different case than Sue. He didn't want a second chance to live it up, he wanted to be able to keep doing a very difficult job. Hope he's enjoying his time in his old weeks.
I can't begin to explain how confusing this Hollywood culture stuff is as someone with autism who doesn't care how I look. For a more comedic take on the idea, you might enjoy Death Becomes Her.
The ending was actually really funny and cathartic 😂 seeing Dennis quaid’s character getting sprayed by the blood was the cherry on top of the cake lmao
13:09 "Take care of yourself."
Elisuebeth: "And what if I DIDN'T?"
7:24 John Noble eating a tomato vs Dennis Quaid eating shrimp, live! Bring safety goggles!