Ram Gopal Varma praises Coralie Fargeat's 'The Substance': 'Sheer directorial brilliance'

Ram Gopal Varma has showered praise on French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat's The Substance. The Rangeela filmmaker took to his official X handle to share his thoughts on the film. 

He wrote, "Hey, Coralie Fargeat. I never saw a more extraordinary film in recent times than The Substance. Your sheer directorial brilliance combined with captivating photography by Benjamin Kračun and heart-stopping music by Raffertie aided the mind-blowing performances of Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, making The Substance a must-watch several times. I loved your Revenge, too, but this is on another level."

In The Substance, Demi Moore plays an ageing movie star who gets kicked out from her TV show. In order to get back into the job, she answers a mysterious ad to gain access to a black market drug called 'The Substance' that promises to restore her to a much younger self, but with certain conditions that eventually complicate matters in ways she doesn't see coming. 

The film's final moments demonstrate a one-of-a-kind daring similar to the likes of other audacious filmmakers like David Cronenberg, Paul Verhoeven, Lars von Trier or Gaspar Noe.

Coralie Fargeat won the Best Screenplay prize when The Subtance premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation. During the last Golden Globe Awards, it was nominated in five categories, including Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical.

Fargeat made her debut with the thriller Revenge in 2017. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap was vocal about his admiration for the film at the time of its release.