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All Hail the New Flesh

For all its decorative asides about predatory male sexuality, ‘The Substance’ is most coherently understood as a morality tale about the folly of feminist illusions.

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Charlotte Allen
· 11 min read
A woman in a yellow coat stands in front of a row of lockers. She is attractive, fifties, carries an expensive handbag.
Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance (Coralie Fargeat, 2024)

Watching writer-director Coralie Fargeat’s new film The Substance, I couldn’t decide whether it was supposed to be a body-horror movie or a deliciously funny All About Eve catfight about an ageing star named Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) who is outraged to discover that she is being replaced by a younger and lovelier version of herself named Sue (Margaret Qualley). What makes the film such fun is that it manages to be both.

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