Statistically speaking, the Golden Globes aren't a great precursor to developments at the Academy Awards. The two voting bodies exist without overlap, and they frequently award different titles and individuals in the major categories. That being said, I find myself tonight keeping fingers crossed that there is correlation this year in the Best Actress field, as I very much want to see Demi Moore take home Hollywood's highest honor for her work in writer/director Coralie Fargeat's The Substance.
One of the best moments of the Golden Globes ceremony this evening saw Demi Moore called to the stage to receive significant recognition for her work in what the CinemaBlend staff voted to be the best film of 2024. Her turn is remarkable, and she explained in her acceptance speech that reading the script convinced her not to retire as an actor. Said Moore,
I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it. Maybe I was complete; maybe I'd done what I was supposed to do. And as I was at kind of a low point, I had this magical, bold, courageous, out-of-the-box absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called The Substance. And the universe told me that you're not done. And I am so grateful to Coralie [Fargeat] for trusting me to step in and play this woman. For Margaret [Qualley], for being the other half of me that I couldn't have done without – for looking out for me.
Demi Moore has been a star and a big name for decades, but she has never played a role quite like The Substance's Elizabeth Sparkle, and her performance is magnificent. Fired from her TV hosting job on her fiftieth birthday, the character can be described as a manifestation of all the self-loathing that society infects women with via ridiculous image standards, and the performance is filled with a perfect balance of rage and sadness.
The sequence when Elizabeth Sparkle can't get herself out of her apartment due to her paralyzing self-esteem issues alone earns her the trophy that she won tonight, and hopefully it will be joined on her proverbial mantle in a few months by an Oscar. (This year's show is scheduled for March 2.)
And not to be ignored or forgotten here is the burden of the special effects in her turn. The Substance is one of the boldest, most dazzling body horror films in recent memory, and whether she is birthing her younger, more "perfect" self out of her spine or suffering the effects of her counterpart abusing the titular program, Demi Moore's performance is extremely advanced and utterly brilliant.
If you didn't make the genius-level choice to watch/rewatch The Substance on New Year's Eve, it's most certainly not too late to watch what I personally found to be the best film of the 140 new releases I screened in 2024. It's presently available to stream on Mubi, but you can also rent and purchase the movie digitally.
