The Substance: A Deep Dive into Its Gruesome Yet Poignant Ending

The Substance: A Deep Dive into Its Gruesome Yet Poignant Ending

Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Director Coralie Fargeat Discuss the Film’s Stunning Finale

Warning: Spoilers Ahead for The Substance

Congratulations on making it through The Substance! You’ve endured 140 minutes of bloody chaos, but sadly, Demi Moore’s character, Elisabeth Sparkle, along with her younger self, Sue (played by Margaret Qualley), do not escape unscathed. In a revealing discussion with Entertainment Weekly, Moore, Qualley, and writer-director Coralie Fargeat share that the film’s ending carries profound meaning that goes beyond the stark themes of life and death.

Setting the Stage

To fully appreciate the film’s conclusion, it’s essential to understand how the characters arrived there. In The Substance, Elisabeth is a fading Hollywood star and Oscar-winning actress whose career is waning as she approaches her 50th birthday. Rejected by her heartless executive, Harvey (Dennis Quaid), she encounters the mysterious supplier of an experimental drug designed to rejuvenate her. However, there’s a catch: the new persona she “births” will share her existence, switching between their bodies every week. This means Sue relies on a “stabilizer” fluid extracted from Elisabeth’s spine.

The Rise of Sue

Soon after her creation, Sue takes over Elisabeth’s role and skyrockets to fame, hosting a major New Year’s Eve event on live TV. As her success grows, so does her time spent outside the limits of the drug’s effects, leading to horrific consequences for Elisabeth’s body—first with a blackened finger, then joint dysfunction, and ultimately, permanent disfigurement.

The Climax

When Sue runs out of the spinal serum, she switches back to Elisabeth’s body, only for Elisabeth to refuse to revert to their previous arrangement. Instead, she contemplates a serum meant to eliminate Sue but ultimately revives her, causing a glitch that allows both to awaken simultaneously. A violent confrontation ensues, resulting in Sue killing Elisabeth just before the New Year’s Eve show, where Sue’s body begins to fall apart.

In a desperate attempt to regain control, Sue injects herself with the original activation serum, leading to a grotesque transformation. She emerges on stage as a monstrous figure, begging for acceptance from an audience that recoils in horror, culminating in her head exploding, showering the crowd in blood. In her final moments, Sue disintegrates, leaving behind a melted visage of Elisabeth on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

A New Perspective on Freedom

Fargeat describes this climactic scene as a moment of liberation for Sue, representing her escape from societal and self-imposed constraints regarding body image and self-worth. “It’s the first time she looks at herself in the mirror and doesn’t criticize herself,” Fargeat explains. “She finally embraces who she is without concern for judgment.”

Moore echoes this sentiment, viewing the scene as a profound expression of the soul’s freedom, detached from the physical form. Qualley adds that Sue, despite being soulless throughout much of the film, discovers love and self-acceptance as her body disintegrates.

Thematic Significance of the Chaos

Fargeat meticulously crafted the film’s chaotic finale, even constructing a theater set and using 36,000 gallons of fake blood to emphasize the violence inherent in the industry and society. “This is what you’re doing to us, so now, enough,” she states, highlighting the audience’s complicity in this violence. The blood that splatters the camera serves as a reminder that the violence inflicted on the monster is ultimately reflected back on the audience itself.

In summary, The Substance offers a brutally honest exploration of identity, self-love, and the pressures of societal expectations, culminating in an ending that challenges viewers to confront their own perceptions of beauty and worth.

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