The Substance Review

11/13/24 • 83 min

How far would you be willing to go to look younger and more beautiful? That is the question that Carolie Fargeat’s The Substance horrifically asks and answers. In what some are calling a career best performance, Demi Moore plays an iconiclfilm and television actress who discovers an alluring new drug called The Substance just as the men in control of her career want to show her the door. It seems many viewers are interested to see what happens next, as the film marks MUBI’s most successful release to date, and has already collected several awards nominations and, in some cases, wins such as Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival.

On this episode of The Long Take Review, we discuss how this high concept film might appeal to a larger audience outside of horror fans, how the genre of body horror might be the perfect way to engage with the film’s themes, and whether or not a film like this can break through the Oscars’ historical bias against horror.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 21:28 minute mark. If you are still on the fence about whether or not you can stomach The Substance, you can listen safely until then.

Image Credit: LA Times

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We go into SPOILER MODE at the 21:28 minute mark. If you are still on the fence about whether or not you can stomach The Substance, you can listen safely until then.

Image Credit: LA Times

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe

Previous Episode

Anora Review

The Palm d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, is a big deal. And it has become an even bigger Oscar bellwether in recent years, as the Academy has expanded, diversified, and, as a result, become more international. The winners have certainly been international, as American films have won only 13 times during the award’s 80+ year history. In fact, an American film has not won since 2011 when Terence Malick’s The Tree of Life took the prize (and, later, three Oscar nominations). That all changed this year when Sean Baker’s romantic dramedy (maybe rom-com-dram?), Anora, earned the distinction and immediately zoomed to the front of the Oscar race.

Anora or Annie is an erotic dancer living in Brighton Beach who becomes involved with Vanya, the playboy son of an obscenely wealthy Russian oligarch. Once his parents find out about their relationship, however, they threaten to fracture Anora’s fairytale romance. The film is playin in theaters now, and will eventually become available to stream on Hulu.

On this episode of The Long Take Review, Greg, P.T., Antonio, and I debate how far this film can really go at the Oscars, what this film has to say about sex work, money, class, and power, and share our reactions to the film’s unexpected ending. Also, if you were ever wondering what some of us sound like with a thick New York accent...

As a bonus, you’ll also find in this episode a shorter conversation I had with Greg about his experience seeing RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys and Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist before the rest of us. That conversation is spoiler free and takes place towards the beginning of the episode, before our Anora review. If you’d like more details to help you hop around the episode, see the time stamps below.

Greg gives his spoiler-free reactions to Nickel Boys and The Brutalist. 3:58

The Short Take and The Recommendation Algorithm for Anora (spoiler free) 37:16

SPOILER MODE for Anora 50:12

Oscar Watch for Anora 1:21:16

Image Credit: IndieWire

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe

Next Episode

Blitz Review

Steve McQueen’s filmography has had an eclectic filmography: Hunger (2008) is about the 1981 Irish hunger strike, Shame (2011) is about sex addiction, Widows (2018) is a heist thriller, and Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave (2013) adapts the 1853 memoir of Solomon Northrup, a free-born Black man kidnapped and sold into slavery. McQueen’s newest film, Blitz, focuses on a mother and son separated during the bombing of London during WWII, and while this is a return to the historical drama genre for McQueen, Blitz has not been unilaterally embraced by critics as 12 Years a Slave was. Despite the more muted reception, could McQueen still enter the Oscar race? On this episode of The Long Take Review, we try to answer this question through our own mixed and varied reactions to the film. Come for the debate about the film’s quality and stay for Greg’s hot takes on mushy peas.

We go into SPOILER MODE at the 22:58 minute mark. If you are still undecided about whether or not you want to give Blitz a go, you can listen safely until then.

Image Credit: New York Times

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe