The Substance (Coralie Fargeat) • Page 6

It was hilarious when Quaid, after the movie hits you over the head with its themes for over two hours, says to the executives, who all look the same to remind you who runs things, that she is his "creation". Did you get it yet?

This was a pastiche of a lot of better movies. Even the final form just sort of looks like Brundlefly.

As to an earlier conversation about why Elizabeth would do it if she isn't actually experiencing Sue's life, she acts genuinely surprised by the answers Sue gives during the talk show, so she either has a really bad memory, the characters are not actually linked, or the director decided to ignore their own internal logic. Early in the aging process Moore is trying to crack her leg to walk, but then after the 3 month timeskip she is suddenly running down stairs and quickly dragging an adult body around.

 

The bludgeoning of the themes is the point, if it attempted subtlety people would complain it's too at odds with the maximalist monster design and gore and violence. can't win either way

 

The problem with that is that it is 2024 and you are building on the backs of all the other films that came before. We know the director saw those films because of all those references.

All of the executives being old white men is trying to make a deliberate point, but it isn't even an accurate one anymore. You know what is scarier than a bunch of old white men exploiting young women and their bodies? The fact that women, people of color, and LGBT people have been slipping into those roles and then turning around and exploiting women in the exact same way. It is shooting fish in a barrel without actually going at the real problem.

It is almost sexist in a way because Elizabeth/Sue doesn't seem to want anything other than to be idolized. While you might say that a young woman might feel that way because of the way she has been conditioned, what of Elizabeth, who has been in the field for decades and has seen the way people, including herself, are treated? After all that time undergoing diets, casting calls, and inevitably being thrown overboard, her only thought is why not do it again every other week? It seems like the only thing she learned the first time around is how to do that performance more effectively. It would have been interesting to see her use her knowledge and lifetime of experience to try and challenge those systems. All she seems to want is her old show back, which is suggested to have been an undesirable end to her career in the first place. She isn't trying to become a respected actor or anything like that.

In the logic of the film, is the duplicate supposed to look like you? It is splicing with your DNA after all. If it is, someone might have noticed that the new star of the show looks just like the old star. You have to overlook a lot of little things in a film like this, like the person I saw it with wondering how Sue manages without a drivers' license or social security number in the workplace, but if Qualley is supposed to be a stand-in for Moore's character 25 years ago, it is weird that no one on the show notices.

 

I vividly remember for the first 20ish minutes thinking “ugh, this is beating a dead horse” and then shortly evolving to “The lack of subtlety is a feature not a bug. I love that this is so boldly going for it.”

This might be my favorite movie I’ve seen so far this year. I cannot wait to watch it again.

 

Finally caught up on this thread and immediately left because Tetra was raising my blood pressure lol

 

@Morrissey have you seen Revenge?

 

The replies to this clip make me think that this movie really succeeded with it's themes. I love the poster that has the quote "An enraged scream in cinematic form" and this scene is absolutely proof of that.

 

so many of the film's best moments take place in a mirror.

 

your favourite reference baby

 

Eilsasue IS Brat

 

i've never seen that photo of charli in my life

 

I also don't listen to charli

 

christ josh. you cant just admit that in this thread

 

The Oklahoma government banned being brat

 

no this is a personal choice

 

A bad one

 

Eh, I'm with Josh. She's simply too British for me!

 

oy mista

 

key bumps on a chewsday, innit

 

I also do not listen to Charlie

 

I assume we’re talking about Puth.

 

Talkin Puth?

 

we agreed that charlie poop should be a bigger artist, or whatever Taylor said