Demi Moore is saying what lots of us are thinking while out on the publicity tour for The Substance. The iconic actress took the stage at the French Cinematheque on Tuesday night, and put it all quite plainly, explaining that, “America is built on Puritans, religious fanatics and criminals … [And] you’re kind of seeing [as much] in our election right now.”
Moore made the statement while accepting a career tribute at the Paris, France premiere of the Coralie Fargeat film (as reported by Variety). And in the hours since Donald Trump was confirmed to have won re-election, the truth and anger behind her words feels particularly necessary.
Demi Moore Says Society Needs to Quit Being Surprised About Women’s Potential
“There’s a lot of fear in America around the body,” she said. “Sexuality is always taboo. That’s something I’ve never understood or related to.”
And it is that fear, Moore asserts, that is a huge part of the problem the United States is facing, politically as well as existentially. “When we choose to hide ourselves, when we fear being seen, we create isolation. And that creates loneliness,” the actress stated. “There is greater liberation when you are willing to allow others to see you in all the parts of you, not just the parts that you want them see.”
It’s a strong statement full of truth — and not just in relation to the subject matter of The Substance. “I’ve certainly stirred the pot in a few of the films I’ve chosen, which is partly because [I’ve never understood that fear] of the body. It never made sense why we can celebrate the body in art, but fear it in cinema.”
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“Being someone of a certain age, there was greater value in showing oneself with complete abandon,” Moore explained. “Being willing to be seen with flaws, with imperfections, [as someone that is] clearly not 20 or 30 years old, being a little bit more ‘loosely wrapped.'”
That shift in perspective, Moore said, opened her eyes to the reality of self-hatred so many people endure, and how it proliferates well beyond the self. It’s what made her want to be in The Substance, and also see its value to society beyond being a visceral, body horror-filled viewing experience.
“What moved me was the harshness that we can have against ourselves. That violence that we can have against ourselves, which I felt had never really been explored,” the actress explained. “That felt risky, scary. Personally, it certainly pushed me out of my comfort zone.”
Moore then took a moment to address a common question she has faced in the marketing of the film. “I’ve been asked, could a man direct, have directed this. And yes, maybe a man could, but I don’t think a man could have written [it].”
“This is such a personal exploration,” she continued. Adding that if viewers were surprised by Fargeat’s originality and subversive style both visually and substantially, that’s on them. “[T]hat’s just because there hasn’t been enough time for women yet up until now. I want us to quit being surprised that a woman can do something,” Moore quipped to rounds of applause from the French audience.
Fargeat, who was also at the premiere, also had a lot to say on the matter. “The film was a big ‘fuck you,’ that’s for sure,” she said. “So I can only wish that we’re going to enter a world of hope, one that celebrates women’s rights as well.”
“Unfortunately, the film’s subject might still hold true in ten or 20, or 50 years,” Fargeat added, “unless we see a real revolution.”
Elisabeth Sparkle, renowned for an aerobics show, faces a devastating blow on her 50th birthday as her boss fires her. Amid her distress, a laboratory offers her a substance which promises to transform her into an enhanced version of herself.