One of the most talked about films at the Cannes Film Festival this year was The Substance, a wild body horror thriller destined to become a cult classic upon its theatrical release this fall. Starring Demi Moore in a career-best performance opposite the consistently impressive Margaret Qualley, this sophomore effort from up-and-coming French director Coralie Fargeat (Revenge) plumbs the depths of the feminine psyche to deliver a twistedly entertaining fable on the fine line between self-obsession and self-hatred. While the film won’t make its North American debut until the Toronto International Film Festival this September, here are four films to check out while you wait:
Death Becomes Her (1992)
While it may seem an odd choice, The Substance shares quite a bit of DNA with this early nineties comedy. Playing the societal devotion to the cult of beauty for laughs, director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) nails the often-complicated dynamics of female friendships while giving leading ladies Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn the chance to show off their considerable comedic chops. Locked in a decades-long competition for the affections of the nebbishy Dr. Ernest Menville (Bruce Willis) and an admiring public, washed up actress Madeline Ashton (Streep) and author Helen Sharp (Hawn) each pay visits to the alluring Lisle (Isabella Rosselini), who promises a lifetime of eternal youth and beauty through the ingestion of a mysterious (ahem) substance. Complications ensue of course, and this comedy of errors provides its impeccable cast with ample opportunity to tease out the power dynamics of beauty while delivering one killer one liner after another.
Dumplings (2004)
Not for the faint of heart, this stomach-churning feature from legendary Hong Kong director Fruit Chan follows the wealthy Mrs. Li (Miriam Yeung) on a quest to rejuvenate her youth and beauty and regain her husband’s fickle affections by any means necessary, even if those means include the consumption of some horrifyingly “special” dumplings prepared by Aunt Mei (Bai Ling) in her dilapidated high-rise apartment. Chan doesn’t beat around the bush as to the contents of those dumplings but suffice it to say if you imagine the worst… you’re probably right on the money. First released as part of the horror anthology Three Extremes, the film was later expanded for theatrical release. If you can find it, the shorter version – trimmed of all but the very essence of the story – far more effectively achieves its aims and boasts the more powerful ending of the two.
Neon Demon (2016)
While this divisive entry from Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn may have been more interesting in conception than execution, it is absolutely still worth a watch. The film is centred on Jesse (Elle Fanning), a fresh-faced teen model with a mysteriously tragic past who arrives in Los Angeles and quickly becomes an object of obsession for nearly everyone she encounters. Highly stylized and a bit stilted, Neon Demonsomehow manages to skewer the meaninglessness of our cultural obsession with youth and beauty while completely leaning into it. Every character that Jesse encounters on her climb to the top seems to want to take something from her, whether or not it’s something possible for her to give. Eventually, this increasingly frenzied greed crescendoes into a violently shocking final sequence that, while perhaps not as poetic as Refn might have hoped, will stay with you long after the credits roll.
Revenge (2017)
Finally, what better way to prime yourself for Fargeat’s latest effort than by watching (or re-watching) her debut feature? Hailed as subverting the male-centric perspective and exploitative eye of the violent horror thriller genre, Revenge has been lauded for putting a feminist spin on the all-too-familiar tale of rape and revenge, this time placing the ultimate power back in the hands of its all too capable “victim.” An impressive Matilda Lutz here plays Jen, a young woman whose isolated desert getaway with her married boyfriend takes a dark turn when his hunting buddies show up. After assaulting her and leaving her for dead, the trio carries on with their weekend hunting plans, not counting on becoming prey themselves. The film may not be for everyone, but makes for a welcome and stylish feminine spin on the genre.
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