The Cost of Perfection: An Analysis of The Substance

By Emilia Vieira

Arts & Culture

The “ideal” look and behaviour for women is constantly shifting yet remains persistently unattainable. In today’s society, youth and beauty are as much of a tool as they are a burden. The Substance serves as a bloody example of the dangers of internalizing societal expectations and chasing perfection.

The film follows the flawless Elisabeth Sparkle, an aging star offered a drug that promises to transform her into the “best version of herself”. On her 50th birthday, Elisabeth Sparkle’s television show is canceled by her grotesque boss to make way for a younger, “hotter" replacement. Throughout the film, the entertainment industry’s standards for women are dictated by elderly male executives who do not adhere to the physical standards they enforce and profit from.

The miracle drug Elisabeth takes creates a second “improved” body she keeps in her bathroom, inhabiting it on a strict schedule. To maintain balance she must switch bodies every seven days and inject a daily dose of spinal fluid from her original body. Sue, Elisabeth’s second self, takes Elisabeth’s place professionally, receiving praise and attention from the public. As Sue’s life flourishes, and Elisabeth’s sense of personal value depreciates, they begin to resent each other. Sue views Elisabeth’s misery as repulsive, while Elisabeth loathes Sue as a constant reminder of her insecurities.

This mutual disdain showcases the pressure women undergo when competing with unrealistic expectations and past versions of themselves. Sue eventually decides that Elisabeth is less deserving of their shared time and disrupts the balance, causing disastrous side-effects for Elisabeth, symbolizing the risks of extreme beauty treatments and desperate self-improvement efforts. The conflict escalates as Sue seeks independence from Elisabeth, while Elisabeth fights to terminate Sue, declaring Sue has stolen “what’s left of everything good about her.” After Sue succeeds in getting away from Elisabeth, whom she is dependent on, she faces consequences leading her to be preyed upon by the want for a “better” version of herself, leading to a catastrophic mutation of both Sue and Elisabeth.

The message of this film is particularly significant today as drastic treatments and the unhealthy obsession of physical improvement is rebranded as “self care” and reintegrated into women’s lives with a profit incentive. The Substance is a cautionary tale of the consuming nature of societal pressure and the importance of basing self worth away from the influences of capitalism and the male-gaze.