The Substance, like so many things, is about Death

It's about gender, consumerism, fame, yes - but human finitude most of all

The Substance - the thing in the film, not the film itself - is a cruel method of suicide. Elizabeth’s life feels to her like it is over, because the identity she had as a star has come to an end. Her life itself could go on, but she tries to hold on to what she cannot hold on to, and so her life ends completely, horribly, violently.

The consequences of …