I have not seen a movie as viscerally powerful as ‘The Substance’ in my recent memory. It instantly made me think of a novel that I read a long time back: ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ by Oscar Wilde. There are too many similarities to ignore. And I felt the same way reading it as I did watching the movie — squeamish, thrilled, fascinated. This movie is a rich, colorful bizarro sibling of the book. A part of you ages, a part of you doesn’t. Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore embody the two roles perfectly (Embody. Hehe.). Another entry into countless stories about a person’s obsession to try to stop ageing and dying, ending up with results unspeakable, fatal, and disastrous. Also a meditation on body image, transcendence of fame, ageing, and looks in the age of looksmaxxing. I loved the movie. Watch it if you haven’t already.