I enjoyed this quite a bit — an on-the-whim watch since I realised I somehow managed to have missed watching it. ever. no wonder I was a little confused as to bucky's relevance in later films. speaking of, it was probably for the best that I didn't see this when it came out because I fear I would've latched onto the character.

luckily I can do that eleven years late instead.

I don't have much else to say other than it…

relentless. The Substance is uncomfortable from the get go, but what starts with breaths between waves culminates in a suffocating plunge underwater. despite this, it doesn't take itself too seriously either, making it a bitter, sarcastic, and sad blow of a kiss.

Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley are fantastic as two sides of a coin, as is the way they're framed. everything about Moore feels insecure, whereas Qualley is shot like a commercial, at least at first. the resulting blend…

well, this cut into me. a grounded piece of dystopian fiction, grit rubbed deep into its flesh. I want to call it prescient, but the scarier thing is if the premonitions people claim fiction was right on were not premonitions at all — just things that were already happening then, and are still happening now (just worse, or more).

the future Children of Men envisions feels like a thick and overbearing grey. it's de-stylised to the point it finds style again:…