The Substance by Coralie Fargeat shook up the Cannes Film Festival. Spectators had to leave the theater because they felt unwell during the screening of this extremely gory film. “I’ve been told that, but it’s a bit exaggerated, isn’t it? », Confides the director of Revenge. This feminist and joyful gore festival featuring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid is to be reserved for an informed audience.
“It’s great to show it at Cannes,” explains Demi Moore. The film is about women’s appearance and their obligation to remain sexy. This is a good place to talk about these topics. » The actress delivers a brilliant performance in the skin of an aging actress agreeing to take a revolutionary drug that will change her life, but not only that.
From “body horror” to women
David Cronenberg-style body horror and feminism as in revenge, the director’s first feature film, are there. “The idea came to me at a time in my life when I hated my body,” confides Coralie Fargeat. I wondered why women put so much pressure on themselves, even those who hope to escape these dictates. I wanted to push the response to the limits of the grotesque without imposing any limits on myself. »
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The actresses did not hesitate to get naked, nor to undergo hours of makeup to The Substance. “I felt confident,” says Demi Moore, “and I’m grateful to Coralie for pushing me out of my comfort zone. When I was afraid, I told myself that the experience made me grow as a woman and as an actress. »
A stone in the MeeToo building
This singular work proves that the festival continues to open up to genre cinema and that women have nothing to envy men when it comes to having very twisted ideas. The Substance disturbing with its bloodbath and monstrous experiments but the violence is never gratuitous. “I am a feminist,” insists Coralie Fargeat, and I hope that my film will be an additional stone in the MeeToo building. Things are changing for women and it’s only just beginning. I am proud to defend these ideas in Cannes. » The good reception of the film confirms that she was right. The Substance is in his place in competition: what he defends should speak to the president of the jury Greta Gerwig.