Why does Elisabeth Sparkle use The Substance?  

After being cruelly dismissed from her TV show by Harvey, Elisabeth’s worst fears are confirmed: she has lost all of the qualities that the entertainment industry once valued in her. Her decision to take The Substance is a direct consequence of both her firing and her own self-loathing. In a desperate, panicked bid to reclaim her youth and remain relevant, she turns to The Substance, which allows her to create a “perfect” version of herself named Sue. At first, Elisabeth sees Sue as a way to remain beautiful and young, and she uses Sue to secure opportunities and to seize the attention that she’s so addicted to. However, by the end of the movie, her addiction to The Substance destroys both her and her counterpart. 

Why does Sue refuse to follow the switching schedule? 

Sue, the younger version of Elisabeth created by The Substance, initially follows the agreement of switching consciousness every seven days. However, as she experiences life on her own, she begins to crave independence and to resent her reliance on the older Elisabeth’s body. Unlike Elisabeth, who has been cast aside by the industry, Sue is in the throes of being embraced by Hollywood and is intoxicated by the attention and her growing stardom. She starts to see Elisabeth as an obstacle rather than as part of herself, and she begins delaying the switch, using more of the stabilizer fluid to prolong her sessions of consciousness. The more time Sue spends in the spotlight, the less willing she is to cede control to Elisabeth. As Elisabeth gets older and more physically damaged, Sue feels increasing disgust and resentment for her. 

Why does Sue ultimately turn on Elisabeth? 

Sue’s initial role as Elisabeth’s second chance at fame transforms when she starts to see herself as a separate person. She thrives in Hollywood, receives all the attention and admiration she could dream of, and starts to form her own identity. To her, Elisabeth represents the possible future of rejection and failure. As Elisabeth becomes more desperate, Sue starts to view her as a threat or a liability rather than a partner. Her disgust with Elisabeth grows as Elisabeth becomes more introverted and depressed. Sue is appalled by the messes Elisabeth leaves in their apartment and disgusted by Elisabeth’s aging body. The relationship between them transforms from a symbiotic arrangement into a struggle for existence. 

What is The Substance used for?

The Substance is a glowing green fluid which users inject via a hypodermic needle. It’s used to create a new body from the user’s original body, in order for them to continue to “live” as a younger and more beautiful version of themselves. When Elisabeth first sees an advertisement for The Substance, the process turns out to be far from her original expectations. After injecting The Substance she collapses, unconscious, and a “new” body bursts out of the skin on her back, seemingly emerging from her spine. Rather than being another body in which Elisabeth can live, this second body apparently has a separate consciousness. It’s a totally separate being from Elisabeth herself, even renaming itself “Sue.” After using The Substance, Elisabeth is forced to split her days between living in her own aging form and being unconscious so that “Sue” can live. 

What is the stabilizer fluid used for?

The “stabilizer fluid” that Sue draws in seven-day increments from Elisabeth’s spine is meant to be used on a highly specific schedule. The mysterious Voice of The Substance tells Elisabeth that it’s vital she and Sue “respect the balance” of alternating seven days of consciousness. When Sue “wakes up” and Elisabeth begins her period of unconsciousness, Sue must extract stabilizer fluid from Elisabeth’s spine and inject it. If she doesn’t do this, her own body starts to disintegrate. This begins with disorientation and nausea, and (as the end of the film shows) eventually ends with the total decomposition of Sue’s body. The longer Sue stays conscious, the more “stabilizer fluid” she must extract from Elisabeth’s spine. When Sue steals too much time from Elisabeth and is forced to let her take over once more, it’s not because she regrets her actions and wants to give Elisabeth a chance. It’s because Elisabeth’s decrepit body has stopped generating the stabilizer fluid Sue needs to stay alive. 

How does the film critique Hollywood’s treatment of aging women? 

The Substance revolves around the idea that Hollywood as an industry values external appearances over the actual “substance” that makes women unique. It lionizes youth while discarding older women without a second thought. This concept is epitomized by the firing of Elisabeth Sparkle, a beautiful, talented woman who is forced out of her career because of the shallow preferences of her misogynistic producer. By turning to The Substance, she is attempting to reclaim what Hollywood took from her. Instead, she enters into another parasitic relationship where her own well-being is dependent on the actions and emotions of another person. The ease with which Sue replaces Elisabeth reflects how superficial casting choices can be. The entertainment industry constantly searches for the next young star while abandoning those who no longer fit its impossible standards. The film reflects how Hollywood’s obsession with youth not only excludes older women but also makes them feel that they must fight with younger actresses to remain relevant. It’s a literal interpretation of the way that the industry compares woman and pits them against one another. 

Does the near-futuristic setting have anything to do with how the plot plays out? 

The near-futuristic setting of The Substance reinforces the film’s themes of artificial perfection, societal obsession with youth, and the extremes people will go to in order to stay relevant. The technology that allows Elisabeth to create Sue reflects a world where science has removed natural limitations. Rather than becoming pregnant and giving birth to create new life in the societally-expected way, Elisabeth grows and releases Sue into the world by supernatural means. Sue bursts through the skin of Elisabeth’s back like a caterpillar emerging from a chrysalis. It’s not a natural process, and it illustrates that the expectation that women stay young forever is also unnatural and impossible. 

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