Wakey, wakey: Time for change arrives in ‘The Substance’.
THE SUBSTANCE ****1/2 (141 minutes) R
In this brilliantly conceived, totally compelling, super-stylized Stygian satire a miraculous drug promises to extend the career of fading star Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore).
A former Hollywood luminary freshly fired from her aerobics TV show, Sparkle is gifted with a treatment that creates a younger, idealised version of herself.
As Sue (Margaret Qualley), Elisabeth reclaims her place in the spotlight, becoming the hottest thing ever curated by greasy, ever-smiling TV producer Harvey (Dennis Quaid).
The only cost: Elisabeth must adhere to the strict conditions of the treatment, an increasingly difficult task the more intoxicated she becomes with her new-found fame and beauty.
A full-blooded, singularly bloody black comedy with more body horror moments than a David Cronenberg party reel, writer/director Coralie Fargeat thrusts an aggressively feminist, laser-sharp lance through the heart of several hot-button themes: impossibly high, male-imposed female beauty standards; the eternal seduction of fame; the refusal to age gracefully. Oh, and the importance of maintaining balance and self-discipline in life.
The film mashes Faust, Dorian Gray, Jekyll & Hyde, The Fly, The Elephant Man, The Thing and Carrie into a glossy exercise in body horror excess. Fargeat cites David Lynch, Cronenberg and John Carpenter (director of The Thing) as influences. Any cineaste worth their salt could have surmised as much.
Playing increasingly conflicted sides of the same character, Demi Moore & Margaret Qualley are superb, casting all notions of on-screen decorum out the window.
It’d be a movie crime if neither at least got nommed for an Oscar. The production team certainly put in award-worthy work with the film’s smorgasbord of magnificently gory practical effects.
THE WILD ROBOT *** (102 minutes) PG
A slickly animated, upbeat – if formulaic – kids film, The Wild Robot is a futuristic fairy tale telling of an orphaned duckling who falls under the care of Roz, a service robot that has survived after its ship crashes into a forest.
The duck must be raised, fed and taught to fly so it can partake in the upcoming migration.
Inevitably, Roz has to adapt to its new environment and the wild critters in it by improvising its behaviour and operating beyond its programming.
Just as inevitable are the painful moments where the robot and the duck must part ways, however temporarily.
Feeling like a cross between Wall-E, ET and Ferngully (which, of course, implicates Avatar), the story pleasantly goes by-the-numbers for about an hour, with lots of action and visual humour, before it gets really interesting as Roz’s post-separation story plays out.
Written and directed by Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon; The Croods), it’s proficient and largely predictable, offering a handful of comforting takeaways about friendship and getting along with those who are different (making the film unintentionally topical).
Along with Transformers One, The Wild Robot is the latest in a century-long cinematic tradition of imbuing robots with hearts and souls and human emotions.
Aside from being an intriguing theme – and to wax paranoid for a moment as AI encroaches ever-so-quickly into our lives – perhaps we’re being conditioned to accept the idea of robots as emotionally valid.
A bit scary, that. Just a thought.