The Film’s Critical Acclaim and Organic Rise in Enthusiasm
“The Substance” first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it won the screenplay prize for writer/director Coralie Fargeat. A follow-up to her bold debut feature “Revenge,” Fargeat ups the ante here with a stylish vision about aging and beauty standards for women (in Hollywood, especially).
What Fargeat is saying is not necessarily the most profound commentary on these beauty standards, but anyone who saw “Revenge” would know that subtlety is not what this auteur is going for in her storytelling. Instead, she takes a serious issue that rightfully infuriates her and magnifies that fury in such an extreme way that it almost comes across as a battle cry. No one will be leaving “The Substance” wondering what it meant and lamenting that the director didn’t “go there” fully. Fargeat goes there, and she keeps going there until the bitter end (Monstro Elisasue, anyone?). To be clear, Fargeat’s lack of subtlety is not a critique at all; it’s exhilarating, and it has become her signature power as a filmmaker. After all, following the premiere, critics were immediately hailing “The Substance” as an “audacious [...] masterpiece.”
The marketing heavily capitalized on these reviews in a way that carefully positioned the film as both required viewing for cinephiles, horror obsessives, and “normies.” Even with this approach, one could not have expected the enthusiasm for this film to grow as organically as it did on social media. Unlike other fall releases like the disastrous “Joker: Folies a Deux,” this is not a film backed by a major studio or streaming service; MUBI holds the U.S. distribution rights. While the distributor no doubt is respected by a niche group of film lovers and industry insiders, it does not yet have the name or brand recognition here in the US that might get general moviegoing audiences automatically jazzed in the way that A24 has amassed legions of “film bro” fans. Without that kind of muscle, the marketing team for “The Substance” mostly had the quality of the film itself to lean on… well, at first. Once the general public saw it, the memes practically started making themselves, and “The Substance” began gaining momentum, capturing people’s attention (and algorithms).
“He Took the Substance,” Sue, and Other Memes
One of the more consistent and prominent memes that has been circulating since the movie’s theatrical release is the “he took the substance” meme, in which two celebrities, characters, or pop culture figures of different generations but with a similar resemblance are paired together and jokingly accused of using the fictional product. The popularity of this meme speaks to the cultural relevance of “The Substance,” demonstrating how applicable the premise is to various corners of the pop culture space and contributing to the lore of the film's concept.
Additionally, fans of “The Substance” are taken with certain specific scenes, highlighting the memorable production design and praising the performances of Moore and Qualley. Fans are also enamored with the character of Sue in particular. The memes continue to poke fun at the two-dimensional objectified portrait of the young “it girl,” but in the same vein as Fargeat’s own sensibility. In other words, what folks are really responding to favorably here is the writer/director’s own heightened reality and sense of humor.
The film’s bonkers final act has generated its own set of memes and hot takes as well, though, for spoiler purposes, we’ll avoid sharing too much. Let’s just say people have made Spongebob memes about it, and there was even a viral drag performance mimicking Elisabeth’s extreme final look.
Why “The Substance” Has Met Our Cultural Moment
In the age of streaming, it’s increasingly hard for a theatrical release to capture the zeitgeist and to hold the general public’s attention for longer than a film’s opening weekend. Critics and cinephiles may tell you that “The Substance” needs to be experienced in a theater, but the film did not have a marketing machine like “Barbenheimer” to spin the theatergoing experience into a widespread social “event.” Instead, “The Substance” broke through primarily because of how good it is and how memeable it is.
That is not a detriment to its quality. Rather, the “memeability” shows that “The Substance” is very much of our times while still being its own work of art. What a rare accomplishment for Fargeat and MUBI to have actualized and expertly distributed a critically acclaimed yet accessible vision—one that invites its audience to join in on the fun without any shred of eye-roll-inducing pretension. As an added bonus, what a gift it is to see the meme machine of internet humor being used to support a quality film rather than add fuel to the fire of a messy one. It makes sense that “The Substance” and its memes go hand in hand. After all, the mix of shock value and relevant social commentary is part of what can make a great meme, and it’s also what makes “The Substance” a great film.
Thumbnail Attribution: @MatthewKBegbie