The Substance: Fountain of Youth Morality Tale

This film has received an A.A. nomination for Best Picture.  Written & Directed by Coralie Fargeat, the film has a terrific concept.  If you like gore and horror, you will probably love it.  Robin & I had to stop watching it at about 1 hour & 15 minutes because it became too dark, gory, and scary for us, but I can understand the movie receiving the nomination.  The plot is fascinating, the screenplay is very good, and Moore & Qualley give excellent performances.  Additionally, Demi Moore has received an A.A. nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role, but my pick remains Mikey Madison for "Anora." Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi) is now in her 50's.  Although once a big box-office attraction who even has a star on the "Walk of Fame," she is now forgotten.  Currently, she just has a daytime TV workout show.  She lives alone, has no boyfriend, and her life is unfulfilling.  To make matters even worse, Elisabeth gets fired from her TV show because she is too old.  Elisabeth soon suffers an injury and gets treated at the local emergency room.  The physician there thinks she is an excellent candidate for "The Substance" and slips her a card.  She goes to the "The Substance" website and learns that, apparently, "The Substance" can create a new, younger, and improved version of yourself, although you also still exist as your older self.  Consciousness is shared by both versions of yourself.  "The Substance" is a black market drug, without any evidence-based research.  How anyone with an IQ over 10 would go ahead and try it is beyond me, but Elisabeth is desperate, so she pulls the trigger. There are strict protocols to using "The Substance" which Elisabeth closely follows, but the newly created version of herself, Sue (Margaret Qualley), has her own plans.  Essentially, Sue starts living the life Elisabeth wants to live if she was still young and beautiful.  Sue, however, is wild, impulsive, and takes excessive risks.  Furthermore, Elisabeth has no control over what Sue does. What could possibly go wrong?  Unfortunately, way too much!  The film has considerable depth, with the primary theme being society's pressure on women to look young & beautiful, and its disregard for inner qualities of age, such as compassion and wisdom. Bottom Line: "The Substance" has a "substantial" message.  As tempting as having a do-over is, it might be best to pass.