The Substance (2024)

This film wears its themes openly. I was drawn to its illustration of the narrow perception of desirable feminine expression, as personified by Sue. Early in the film Elisabeth is forced to use the men’s bathroom, literally erasing her femininity as she discovers she is being replaced. The grotesque framing of male characters as sloppy fed nicely into her later behaviour: she has slipped from this feminine ideal and, resenting Sue, relishes in it. There’s plenty to think about, and if anything I wished some imagery had been more subtle, but perhaps I would then have missed it entirely.

I enjoyed the visceral nature of using the Substance, which illustrates its unnaturalness and implies self-sacrifice in a way that reminded me of the boxes in Primer (2004). From the premise alone one can quickly predict several likely events, but these were presented with enough style that I was still engaged.

I felt the film overused flashbacks, especially at key points where I could already track the thought processes of the character. The ending was satisfying; I liked the literal usage of blood to capture metaphorical blame.