This isn’t “The Substance with a dude” so much as “The Substance FOR dudes”. The former implies that the two have the same tone, beats, and central conflict, whereas the latter takes the core question posed by the movie - “how does a sudden change in appearance to one’s most beautiful self affect their sense of identity?” and puts it entirely in the perspective of the two different genders.
The clearest example - when “Guy” bashes a hole into the ceiling…
In the opening scene of the movie Calvary, an unseen voice tells a priest (Brendan Gleeson) in the confines of a confessional that he’s going to kill him in one week. Then he leaves. What follows is about two muted, slow-paced hours of a man coming to terms with his death during the final seven days of his life. Each tiny daily ritual, each interaction with the townspeople, every minute aspect of the man’s life is magnified by the urgency…
An impressive weaving together of a guided tour of Poland and the complicated relationship between two impossibly different (yet very close) cousins - at no point did I feel either was forced, and felt like the balance shifted at the right times (e.g. the concentration camp scene was tonally perfect).
I can’t speak to the Jewish experience in any capacity, but the contrast between the two cousins represents our internal (and probably collective) response to any major trauma. On the…
I wavered between 4.5 and 5 stars, mostly because of the slow start and dragged-out ending that juuust cost it the movie equivalent of a perfect game.
But I settled on 5. For ~90 minutes, Kōki Mitani creates the perfect rollercoaster of conflict and emotion all wrapped in beautiful visuals and addictive sound. It has the pacing and wit of your favorite The West Wing episode, the humor of your favorite Veep episode, and the emotional crescendo of your favorite…
