Coralie Fargeat's gripping horror The substance deals with many current issues related to aging, feminism, and the dangers of the beauty industry, but there are several questions that remain unanswered when the credits roll. The film follows the life of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famous aerobics instructor who is subjected to a mysterious substance after losing her job on her fiftieth birthday. The chemical promises to transform her into her best self, but when the truth comes out, Elisabeth struggles to balance her two identities. The substance is getting rave reviews and for good reason.
While The substance It's clearly an independent film which does not explicitly require a sequel, there are certain aspects of the narrative that are left unanswered by the time the story comes to an end. Whether for dramatic effect or to keep the audience guessing, it's obvious that Fargeat knows how to explore the unknown to make her stories even more captivating. The substanceThe ending may be missing some details, but it's still extremely effective overall, thanks to the director's keen eye for imagery and metaphorical storytelling.
11
How can Elisabeth and Sue wake up at the same time?
The final scenes put the entire process into question
When the titrated serum is first introduced into The substance, it appears that the process creates a younger, better body into which Elisabeth can transfer her consciousness every seven days, inhabiting Sue's form every two weeks. However, it soon becomes clear that this is not exactly the case. Elisabeth and Sue's personalities seem increasingly disconnected. Each becomes increasingly angry with how the other chooses to spend their seven days of activities, which leads Elisabeth to try to kill Sue to end the process.
Until that moment arrives, it seems that the schism between Sue and Elisabeth is psychological. Spending so much time living as Sue causes Elisabeth's mind to fracture, with Sue becoming a complete alternate personality. This is reinforced the first time Elisabeth thinks about ending the process, but changes her mind. She still experiences life like Sue and doesn't want to give up. However, this changes when Sue wakes up while Elisabeth is trying to kill her. It then becomes clear that the schism may not be psychological at all, and that Sue may have been a separate being all along (a being whose substance simply allows Elisabeth to experience the mind).
The substance it never explains why Sue and Elisabeth can be awake at the same time. However, there are two possible explanations that seem plausible. One is that Elisabeth never controlled Sue to begin with and that the substance simply allowed her to piggyback on Sue's mind as a silent observer. Her perception that she controlled Sue was false, and instead of transferring her consciousness every seven days, she was simply absorbing Sue's memories. The other possible explanation is that, after a while, Sue's brain became active enough to not need Elisabeth's consciousness to function, and she became a distinct and separate entity on a biological level.
10
Why do Sue and Elisabeth need to change every 7 days?
The science behind the substance is incredibly vague
Many of the questions viewers have after watching The substance involve how the mysterious serum actually works. The instructional video that Elisabeth receives first is very clear about the rules of the process, but does not reveal why they must be followed so strictly. It was made clear to Elisabeth and the audience that not changing after seven days would have disastrous consequences, but it was never clearly explained why. However, although there is no direct exposure, The substance answers that question in its own way when Sue begins to push the limits of her active time.
For Elisabeth, spending too much time living like Sue causes her original body to age and deteriorate quickly. The substance explains this as time being stolen from Elisabeth by Sue – although the science on how exactly this works has never been worked out. For Sue, spending too much time as the active half of the pair ends up causing her body to begin to break down. The idea of clones and artificial biological bodies losing integrity is common in science fiction, and it seems that this is the case with Sue and the other beings created by the substance. Additionally, Sue needs Elisabeth to be active so that Elisabeth's body can replenish the spinal fluid used for Sue's daily stabilizer injection.
9
Was “You are a” a lie?
The fundamental truth of the process may have been a mistake
In the presentation video sent to Elisabeth at The substance a statement receives significant focus – “remember, you are one.” The company behind the process goes to great lengths to ensure that its clients don't forget that, no matter how different the personalities of their new personas may be, both the matrix (Elisabeth) and the other self (Sue) are the same person. However, by the end of The substance, this does not appear to be the case. This is not only apparent in Sue and Elisabeth.
At one point, Sue meets an elderly man in a restaurant and realizes that he is the matrix of the other self who first introduced her to the substance in the doctor's office. The man clearly speaks of his other self as if he were referring to an entirely different person. What's more, the schism between Sue and Elisabeth happened after just a few weeks of exchange. This raises serious questions about the veracity of the supplier's claim that the matrix and the other self are one.
The emphasis on this point in the instructional video Elisabeth receives may be due to the ease with which substance users experience an identity split between their original selves and their new forms. However, the events of The substance they also give a strong impression that the supplier was simply lying. The substance it never fully clarifies either way, which led to many questions about how true the process explanation was.
8
Does the substance cost money?
Elisabeth is never seen making payment
One of the most intriguing aspects The substance What isn't explained by the film is how exactly this situation works. The acquisition of chemicals is very enigmaticwith Elisabeth arriving at an abandoned warehouse and never interacting with anyone else while there. In this way, the audience is essentially kept in the dark as much as the characters. This is necessary to maintain the mystery of the story, but even as the film reaches its climax, this aspect of the business is not explained. Elisabeth is never shown paying, but she is called “customer”.
Presumably, it wouldn't make sense for the company to offer this cutting-edge technology to strangers without some kind of payment or deposit. Elisabeth gets her hands on the substance on the recommendation of another client – a doctor who treats her after a dangerous car accident. This unorthodox word-of-mouth approach suggests that the substance could be a kind of pyramid schemewhere Elisabeth would later have been forced to recruit others for the tests – if everything hadn't gone so wrong in the final act.
7
How many people are using the substance?
There are many installments in the deposit
There are many great characters in The substance, but Elisabeth is the only main figure with any knowledge of the substance. It appears to be an incredibly secretive business, kept under the radar to protect the company from any liability if something goes wrong. Elisabeth never has face-to-face contact with the company and only speaks to the representative over the phone. However, during his trips to collect the chemicals, it is shown that several other lockers are waiting for other customers.
The reach of the substance may go far beyond what the film seems to suggest.
Elisabeth is also referred to by a number rather than her name, suggesting that many other customers are involved in the program. Given the details of the procedure, it would be extremely difficult to recognize exactly how many people are disguised as younger people. Things only went wrong for Elisabeth when she decided to break the 7 day rule – for those who manage to adhere to the strict guidelines, it would be impossible to tell them apart from any other young person. The reach of the substance may go far beyond what the film seems to suggest.
6
Who is the supplier of the substance?
Their identity is limited to a voice on the phone
Despite all the information revealed about the substance, including the detailed process required to make it work, Elisabeth never learns anything about the people behind the business. This includes those responsible for supplying the chemicals throughout the city, along with the person who came up with the idea in the first place. Whoever created the substance is notably absent from the story, and while this is almost certainly done to allow the audience to focus on Elisabeth's journey, it's information that definitely could have improved the film.
However, keeping the supplier's identity secret is a great way to give The substance an extra layer of mystery. It prevents the audience from blaming any specific individual for the events of the film, forcing them instead to examine Fargeat's themes and how they further the film's ideology. There is no clear villain in the storywhich means the audience has to dig deeper and think critically to develop their own position on the narrative. It's a clever way of forcing the audience to engage with the work by omitting certain details that aren't strictly necessary.
Was it a mistake on the company's part?
A small detail that does not play an important role The substancebut it still raises fascinating questions, is the extra activating fluid that Elisabeth receives when she first accepts the substance. While everything else is carefully measured and divided into perfect amounts, the activating fluid is excessive and she doesn't need it all. This was clearly an intentional choice, but it's not immediately clear how it serves the film – it's something that could easily go unnoticed at first observationbut it subtly suggests something about the mysterious agency.
The extra activating fluid could serve one of two purposes: First, it could prove that the agency behind the substance is fallible and capable of making mistakes. By proving this at the beginning of the film with the miscalculated liquids, The substance drops a little easter egg that immediately distorts the public's trust in the company. Second, the extra fluid could be a subtle hint that what's coming (Sue using the activating liquid on herself) has happened before, and the company is aware of this danger. This once again paints the company as corrupt and untrustworthy.
4
How did Elisabeth survive giving birth to Sue?
The procedure certainly should have killed her
Although Sue and Elisabeth don't look alike The substancethe two characters are born from the same DNA. Once Elisabeth uses the activating serum on herself, Sue is created and forced out of her body through a bloody slit in her back. The unconventional birth process is one of The substancethe most creative scenesand immediately cements these two characters as separate parts of the same whole. However, the physical pain and lingering injuries Elisabeth suffers during childbirth would almost certainly result in death – but she manages to emerge relatively unscathed.
There would be no story if Elisabeth died here, and it is her coexistence with Sue that drives much of the narrative.
The simple answer to Elisabeth's survival is that she is necessary to the film. There would be no story if Elisabeth died here, and it is her coexistence with Sue that drives much of the narrative. However, to give an in-universe explanation for his immunity, it is likely that the substance has healing properties. It is a high quality medicine that is not available to the public and must have something beyond what is explained. For it to work, it would need to ensure that the subject could survive the activation – so Elisabeth's survival is almost certainly a result of the serum.
3
How was Elisabeth selected for the substance?
Could anyone have been chosen?
Elisabeth, by Demi Moore, is a fascinating protagonist of The substancebut the film's explanation for why she was selected is largely implied rather than explicitly stated. It's the doctor she first hears about the program from after being in a serious car accident, but she isn't immediately interested. It takes her a while to come up with the idea and eventually she is convinced. But for the substance to work as a company, they must certainly target specific individuals who are suitable for the procedure and who are unlikely to reveal the existence of the serum to the public.
In that sense, Elisabeth is the perfect candidate for the substance – she's unhappy with her day-to-day life, needs to look younger to move up the career ladder, and no one would ask questions if she disappeared for an extended period of time. She's already disregarded at work, so it's likely no one would believe her if she tried to reveal company secrets or break the rules. The supplier is clearly very organized and experiencedas demonstrated by the smooth distribution process, so it's no wonder they were able to find a suitable candidate.
2
Has the substance ever gone wrong before?
It's unbelievable that no one has made Elisabeth's mistake before
This question is largely speculative, but there are some details throughout the film that suggest The substancethe ending of may have happened earlier. The extra activating serum is the first clue, but the biggest contributor to this theory can be found in Elisabeth's phone conversations with the call representative. They don't seem particularly surprised to hear about the main character's problemsbut quite annoyed that I hadn't followed the instructions. It's possible they found these side effects in testing, but his tone suggests an annoyance he's familiar with.
Furthermore, one of the The substanceThe main theme of is the universal experience of wanting to look younger and more attractive. It would be a bit against the film's central tenet if Elisabeth were the first client to break the guidelines and spend more time as she does.”perfect” self. Instead of, the story can be seen as a kind of modern fairy tale where Elisabeth represents all humanity and her actions serve as a warning against this type of behavior. The film is extremely allegorical at times, so this reading makes a lot of sense.
1
Why does Elisabeth's face appear at the end?
The decision completely changes the ending
In the final moments of The substanceAfter Elisabeth and Sue merge into a mutated version of both of them and wreak havoc on the New Year's party, Elisabeth's face appears on what remains of the creature. As the character died just minutes before, this moment is a big surprise and builds on an already extremely bold and ambitious ending. However, the emotional weight of this colorful ending manages to bring it all together, as Elisabeth's plot ends in the most fitting and depressing way imaginable..
The celebrity's face appears on the creature's remains as a final declaration that she has been irrevocably destroyed by her own selfishness, torn apart by the beauty standards and self-competition that slowly eat away at her throughout the film. Despite Sue's prominence in the final act, the appearance of Elisabeth's face cements her as the film's true protagonist – it is her actions that The substance is warning, and his tragic fate the audience will face long after the credits roll.