The Substance’s best scene is its most painfully recognizable

The fabric – now available to watch MUBI – is a wild, bloody ride, but it’s the film’s least splashy scene that really resonates.

Directed by Coralie Fargeat, the story follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), an actor who became famous for her aerobics show and now, just as she turns 50, is about to be replaced by a younger woman.

Frustrated by the situation, Elizabeth takes a mysterious serum called The Substance, which gives her a younger clone of herself named Sue (Margaret Qualley). They all have one week to enjoy life, but soon Sue begins to take some liberties, with tragic consequences.

There are plenty of shocking moments along the way, from Sue’s gruesome birth to the birth of Monstro Elisasue. last massacre during the New Year’s show. The film’s best scene, however, is actually an understated (but still terrifying) moment of self-loathing.

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In the scene, Elisabeth is getting ready for a date with an old high school classmate with whom she recently reconnected. After being fired from her TV show and putting The Substance in a state of distress, the only thing that makes her feel good about herself is this man’s sweet compliments.

She has chosen to wear a bold red dress. She styled her hair and put on some makeup, red lipstick and high heels. She looks beautiful, and yet something is not right. The reflection looking back in the mirror is not perfect; it’s not what she used to look like, it’s not Sue.

After a few anxious glances at the clock (she’s late) and a few final touch-ups, she makes it all the way to the front door.

However, her distorted image in the doorknob stops her. In that unflattering version of herself, we truly step into Elisabeth’s shoes and understand what she sees as all her insecurities crumble.

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Elisabeth rushes back to the bathroom, looks in the mirror again and feels ridiculous. She applies a line of lipstick to her cheek and then aggressively wipes off her makeup by rubbing her face with her hands.

She doesn’t make it to the date. She can’t – self-loathing is a powerful thing.

Watch The Substance on MUBI (via Prime Video)

In a film full of disgusting body horror, buckets of blood and the clear intention to shock the audience at every turn, this understated scene becomes the most terrifying and the most relatable.

For most of the film, Elisabeth Sparkle feels like a caricature of the classic fallen Hollywood star. While we can understand her obsession with beauty and youth—she’s pushed out of the entertainment industry as if she has a certain expiration date—it’s hard to connect with her.

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But in that mirror scene we finally see the woman behind the archetype, Elisabeth at her most vulnerable. This is the fundamental effect that unattainable beauty standards have on women.

It’s an everyday feeling of inadequacy and an unstoppable self-loathing that manifests itself in the most unexpected and brutal ways. Having a meltdown in front of the mirror when getting ready to go out, or at any time, is painfully common. And it’s not about vanity, but rather the result of unwanted (and unnecessary) comparisons.

Elisabeth compares herself to Sue, a younger and more beautiful version of herself. She compares herself to her old self, forever immortalized in movies, TV, aerobic videos and the enormous portrait that hangs in her living room.

She is also haunted by Sue’s sexy billboard, which seems to mock her by appearing in the windows of her apartment.

For most women today, however, those comparisons mainly come from social media, a land of unrealistic beauty standards.

It’s not just about seeing beautiful people living their best lives, but the dangers of believing that digitally modified images and face filters are real. A quick scroll through Instagram is enough to make you feel inadequate and insecure, to notice that you are falling short.

For those who struggle with body image, Elisabeth’s nightmarish experience getting ready for a date may resonate in a visceral way.

Demi Moore has spoken about how difficult it was to film that scene for the movie. “It’s one of the most heartbreaking moments in the movie,” she said Variety.

“I think we can all relate to trying to make ourselves look better, and just making it worse and worse. Coralie likes to take a lot of takes, and my face was just raw. I got to a point where I couldn’t do that anymore,” she added.

“The idea of ​​looking at yourself in the mirror and only seeing what’s wrong. It’s like trying to make yourself uglier so you can see how you feel.”

The fabric is at its best when it reflects the real-life issues women face, and the deep-seated insecurities we all struggle with.

Looking at the mirror can sometimes be a terrifying experience, so there’s only one message to take from this scene: be kinder to yourself.

The fabric is now available to watch MUBI.