Donald Trump’s re-election to the highest office in America will likely ensure the Hollywood machine’s maintaining of its commitment to low-risk, mass-entertainment in the next few years to come, but if 2024’s cinematic output showed us anything, it’s that there can be wide appeal in being bold. Take for instance, Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” and how it horrifyingly, yet satirically skewers female beauty standards in America, particularly for women of a certain age. The film not only managed to be an awards player across the festival circuit, winning Best Screenplay at Cannes and People’s Choice Award, Midnight Madness at TIFF, but also a box office hit, grossing nearly three times its budget.
While celebrating the film’s French premiere and receiving a career tribute at the French Cinematheque, as reported on by Variety, star Demi Moore spoke of how her home country was built on “Puritans, religious fanatics, and criminals” and that her work aims to counter those forces.
“Sexuality is always taboo,” she said. “And there’s a lot of fear in America around the body. That’s something I’ve never understood or related to. I’ve certainly stirred the pot in a few of the films I’ve chosen, which is partly because [I’ve never understood that fear] of the body. It never made sense why we can celebrate the body in art, but fear it in cinema.”
Moore’s instinct to be emotionally and physically vulnerable throughout “The Substance” came from a desire to see a “greater liberation” in how women are depicted on screen. She said on stage at the French Cinematheque, “Being someone of a certain age, there was greater value in showing oneself with complete abandon. Being willing to be seen with flaws, with imperfections, [as someone that is] clearly not 20 or 30 years old, being a little bit more ‘loosely wrapped.’”
What was particularly enticing about Fargeat’s script for Moore was how she captured female aggression turned inward and the “harshness” and “violence” women can have against themselves. Moore had never really seen that explored before and appreciated the challenge of taking it on.
“That felt risky, scary,” said Moore. “Personally, it certainly pushed me out of my comfort zone.”
Ending her speech with a call to all who underestimate her gender and wish to put them in a box, Moore said, “I want us to quit being surprised [about women’s potential].”
“The Substance” is now in theaters, PVOD, and streaming on MUBI.
