Tag Archives: Margaret Qualley

2024 Films, Coralie Fargeat, Demi Moore, Dennis Quaid, Horror, Independent, Independent Horror, Margaret Qualley, Satire

The Substance-2024

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The Substance-2024

Director Coralie Fargeat

Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid

Scott’s Review #1,461

Reviewed January 18, 2025

Grade: A

Demi Moore takes her languishing career by the reigns in a risky role, leaving any glitz and glamour by the wayside in the wacky horror film The Substance (2024).

She also sheds her mainstream blockbuster image for darker cinematic territory, propelling her into a fresh new image.

Respectability.

The film received widespread critical acclaim, a gaspy crowd reaction, and buzz during awards season, making it the most talked-about film of the season.

Moore portrays a fading celebrity, Elisabeth Sparkle, who was fired by her producer (Dennis Quaid) on her fiftieth birthday due to her age.

She decides to use a black-market drug that creates a much younger version of herself (Margaret Qualley) with unexpected side effects.

As she drives home after being fired, she is involved in a car accident. She meets a handsome young nurse at the hospital who casually advertises a new product. He boldly tells her that it changed his life.

It creates a younger, more beautiful, more perfect you. The catch is that you share time, one week for one and one week for the other—an ideal balance of seven days each.

What could go wrong?

The film begins with a weird shot of a camera looking down at the creation of a famous star on Hollywood Boulevard where anyone who’s anyone has their name in a star on the famous street.

The sequence reveals that Elisabeth was once a big star. Workers sand her name on the sidewalk amid the celebration, and people stop in awe of her name. As the years go by, people comment that she was in some movie they can’t remember, and then someone callously spills garbage on her name, thinking nothing of it.

The story has powerful meaning about the societal pressures on women’s bodies and aging, especially in the media spotlight.

But this isn’t simply about women. Anyone of any gender or humanity can reflect on the insecurities of aging, whether in the corporate world or being cast aside for a younger person in any way.

I found The Substance incredibly relatable.

Besides the story, The Substance is directed very well by Coralie Fargeat, a French director I’d like to see more from.

She bravely incorporates snippets of Stanley Kubrick’s work, adding her funky weirdness and creating an insane experience for viewers.

Kubrick famously created long shots of hallways, which Fargeat brilliantly borrows. Elisabeth watches her producer and team rapidly walk towards her and reminds her that ‘pretty girls always smile,’ reinforcing ridiculous stereotypes attractive women are ‘supposed’ to follow.

Fargeat counterbalances the long shots with several close-ups, mainly of Moore staring at herself in the mirror. Seeing every wrinkle and blemish, she becomes increasingly obsessed with the younger version of herself.

The film does so much with very little dialogue, allowing Moore to deliver a performance of a lifetime.

As the film progresses, it becomes wackier and wackier in only the finest of ways as the older version becomes obsessed with her younger self. As she decays, she becomes a bald hunchback, unrecognizable.

At a diner, she runs into the older version of the young nurse, who admits that the process gets worse with each transformation.

The finale, set on New Year’s Eve, when Elisabeth is set to host events for millions to see, becomes horrific as her monster is set loose. A weird combination of human being and lumpy clay emerges on stage as Elisabeth begs the crowd to accept her.

The result is a moment that combines 1931’s Frankenstein with 1976’s Carrie as a horrific and quite bloody witch hunt ensues.

The film also reminds me of 2000’s Requiem for a Dream in style and in terms of addiction.

Fargeat, who directed, wrote, and produced the film, creates a feminist message that is awe-inspiring.

Combining unique camera angles that infuse a futuristic feel, astounding makeup work, and an exceptional performance by Moore makes The Substance (2024) the year’s surprise hit.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Feature, Best Lead Performance, Demi Moore

2023 Films, Best Film of the Year, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Emma Stone, Fantasy, Margaret Qualley, Mark Ruffalo, Science Fiction, Willem Dafoe, Yorgos Lanthimos

Poor Things-2023

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Poor Things-2023

Director Yorgos Lanthimos

Starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe

Scott’s Review #1,413

Reviewed December 27, 2023

Grade: A

Yorgos Lanthimos is a peculiar director and the suggestion is for potential viewers to be familiar with his work before seeing his latest film release, Poor Things (2023).

I’ve said recently that other directors like Alexander Payne, Todd Haynes, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin Scorcese can easily be added to this list with a style not for everyone but that Cinemaphiles will salivate for style and texture alone.

Anyone who has seen Lanthimos’s Dogtooth (2009) or The Lobster (2016) will know exactly what I mean.

With Poor Things, he hits a grand slam home run that might garner him some Academy Awards in what can be arguably classified as his most progressive film.

Mentions like the art direction, cinematography, set design, and fantastic performance by Emma Stone must be immediately celebrated and called out as highlights.

The film is hardly mainstream or conventional and way out there channeling a parallel to Frankenstein with frightening and gothic sets and sequences galore.

All with a twisted and refreshing feminist quality.

Ultimately, I was satisfied with the knowledge that I had witnessed a cinematic marvel that encourages repeated viewings.

During the nineteenth century in London, England, Bella Baxter (Stone), is a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) who is referred to as ‘god’.

He inserts the tender brain of the baby she was carrying when she leaped from a bridge to her death suicide style.

Under Baxter’s protection and supervision, Bella is eager to learn but acts like a toddler with limited speech and motor skills. She teeters around smashing plates with gleeful joy as she discovers her surroundings.

With superior intelligence and a hunger for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and horny lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents from Lisbon, Portugal to Paris, France, and back to London.

Free from the knowledge and the prejudices women of her time were forced to endure, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation. She challenges societal norms with her vision and determination.

I can’t think of anyone else to play the role of Bella other than Stone. With wide eyes filled with wonder, she infuses her character with comedy and wit as she asks questions many women have but never dare to utter aloud.

Especially in Victorian London.

Ruffalo is outrageous and Dafoe is hideously stoic. Both actors bring star quality and wacky performances in different ways.

The look of the film is to die for as Lanthimos offers a looming fairy tale set design led by cinematographer Robbie Ryan.

The European cities of Lisbon, Paris, and London are given their chapters in the film and their focus. The waterfront in Lisbon in particular resembles the real city in a gothic and foreboding way.

The hotel in Paris where Bella becomes a prostitute is regal and polished. Bella wonders aloud why the male customers get to decide which woman they want to spend time with instead of the reverse.

It’s a fair question.

Her friend and fellow prostitute introduces her to socialism while Madame Swiney (Kathryn Hunter) explains capitalism.

Finally, the musical score by Jerskin Fendrix offers shrieking classical strings mixed with haunting pizazz and perfectly timed arrangements. They promote tension and drama at just the right moments.

2023 was a fabulous year for women in cinematic terms but not so much by the United States Supreme Court but that’s another story. The bombast and box office enormity of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is followed by Lanthimos’s celebration of the thought-provoking Poor Things.

Both elicit insightfully quirkiness that successfully bulldozes over traditional gender norms with messages that women can do whatever they set out to do which is a vital quality for young minds to be exposed to.

Oscar Nominations: 4 wins-Best Picture, Best Director-Yorgos Lanthimos, Best Actress-Emma Stone (won), Best Supporting Actor-Mark Ruffalo, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design (won), Best Production Design (won), Best Original Score, Best Makeup and Hairstyling (won)

2019 Films, Best Film of the Year, Drama, Margaret Qualley, Mikey Madison, Quentin Tarantino, Scoot McNairy, Walton Goggins

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood-2019

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood-2019

Director-Quentin Tarantino

Starring-Leonardo Dicaprio, Brad Pitt

Scott’s Review #926

Reviewed August 1, 2019

Grade: A

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) is another brilliant offering by one of the most (deservedly) respected directors of the modern film era.

This film may be his most personal as it includes many cinematic references and immerses itself in the Hollywood lifestyle. Toned down considerably from the violence standard in his other films, the first half lays the groundwork for a startlingly good second half with every detail of utmost importance.

A bevy of riches awaits any viewer enthusiastically feasting his or her eyes on this film.

The time is 1969, as actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo Dicaprio) struggles to reinvent himself and revitalize his career in Hollywood amid a changing cinematic landscape.

Famous for a popular western television series from the 1950s, Bounty Law, a pursued film career has not taken off, and he is reduced to guest appearances as the villain, then considered throwaway roles, in other episodic series.

His stunt double and best friend Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) accompany him almost everywhere serving as both sidekick and errand boy.

Meanwhile, famous director Roman Polanski and his wife, actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) have moved into the house next door which Dalton hopes will help him revitalize his career aspirations.

As Tate goes about her daily life of running errands and watching her movies in the theater, she is visited by Charles Manson one day looking for the former resident of her house. Historical viewers know-how subsequent events transpired in real-life as Tarantino offers a fictional and tantalizing version of the events.

The length of the film is two hours and thirty-nine minutes, quite robust but typical for a Tarantino production. Some may complain about the bloated running time, but the film never drags; rather the director lays out all the pieces carefully like a fine chess game.

By the mid-point, all hell breaks loose with one of the most suspenseful and edge-of-your-seat scenes in film history. When Cliff drives a flirtatious young hippy hitchhiker, Pussycat (Margaret Qualley) to a range populated by Manson followers, he is in for the adventure of his life…..if he survives.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood contains an orgy of cinematic tidbits featuring a myriad of clips from forgotten films of the late 1960s and popular songs from the day.

This is just the tip of the iceberg in greatness as Tarantino perfectly immerses the viewer into the time with fury and zest. Every set piece, costume, hairstyle, or car is flawlessly placed. Kraft macaroni and cheese, Velveeta cheese, and popular dog food from the period are featured.

Tarantino is a fan of cinema and makes cinema lovers fall in love with cinema all over again.

The cast is humongous but each character is necessary and perfectly represented in roles large and small.

The haunting troupe of Manson followers, specifically Tex Watson (Austin Butler), Squeaky Fromme (Dakota Fanning), and Susan Atkins (Mikey Madison), are all real-life figures. They are foreboding, dangerous, and ever so important to the story.

Al Pacino shines in the small but pivotal role of Schwarz (not Schwartz), Dalton’s agent, while Steve McQueen’s look-alike, Damian Lewis, on-screen for merely seconds, is memorable.

The list of cameo performances goes on and on and on and the fun is wondering who may appear next.

Despite the incorporation of big-name stars in important small roles, the best performances belong to Dicaprio and Pitt. Dicaprio’s best scene takes place alone in his trailer as the washed-up star botches his lines thanks to a hangover causing a delay in filming. He abuses himself into nailing the scene, receiving kudos all around while becoming teary-eyed after a compliment from a young actress.

Pitt has never given a better performance than he does as Cliff, sharing his best scenes with his adorable dog Brandi, and with Dicaprio.

Who can ever forget his chest-baring rooftop scene?

Quentin Tarantino scores again with a bombastic and flawless picture, his ninth release. Rumored to retire after his tenth film, one can hardly fathom the reality of that statement. His films can be watched and watched again, continuously absorbing new and noteworthy details of rich texture.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) easily joins the ranks of great works, not just of the director’s catalog, but of all time.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director-Quentin Tarantino, Best Actor-Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Supporting Actor-Brad Pitt (won), Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Production Design (won), Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design