A knockout performance from Demi Moore and a sweet-souled dramedy destined to make you sob are your best bets in theaters this week. If you’d rather stay home and stream, a 10-part FX series on the late football player Aaron Hernandez and another on a BBC interview that changed the course of a royal’s life are worth watching too.
Hefe’s our roundup.
“The Substance”: Fueled by a phenomenal, all-in performance from Demi Moore and directed and written with unsparing ferocity by Coralie Fargeat, this bloody brilliant body-horror epic (it clocks in at 2 hours, 20 minutes) is not for the weak of stomach. But if you can handle the rampant macabre gruesomeness, it ranks as one of the most electrifying, gut-punching features of the year — a teardown of our out-of-control culture that demands we stay youthful and gorgeous forever. Moore plays fading 50-year-old fitness celeb Elisabeth Sparkle, a hard-working Los Angeles sensation growing more desperate to ward off annoying wrinkles, sagging flesh and aging “imperfections.” When her crass boss (Dennis Quaid, whose squirmy smarminess will make you want to take a shower) gives her the heave-ho for not looking perky and 20 anymore, she signs on for a weird, dubious regimen of injections that spawn a hot, young version of herself — ambitious Sue (Margaret Qualley) — birthed from out of her spine (yes, it’s gross). The two versions of the same woman trade off being in a week-long fugue state while the other one goes out in the world — or stays in her swanky L.A. apartment. Havoc and rapid-aging conditions ensue along with a meal creation that has to be seen to be believed. Fargeat’s unnerving nightmare of a satire alternates from hilarious to shocking and tests the will of anyone in the audience, but it never once loses its nerve or singular purpose as it rips into a sexist, creepy grind-’em-up youth culture that’s enabled by a fawning public. Yes, “The Substance’s” fire and ire rages on too long in its blood-soaked climax, but Moore always remains in firm control. It’s a commanding physical performance filled with a roiling anger you can taste, smell hear and see. Details: 3½ stars out of 4; in theaters Sept. 20.
“My Old Ass”: What would you do if you just turned 18 and your 39-year-old self suddenly appeared to warn you to stay away from a particular someone you simply can’t resist? That’s the predicament facing Elliott (Maisy Stella) who, while tripping on ‘shrooms on a camping trip with friends to celebrate her birthday, gets visited by her cynical older self (Aubrey Plaza, in a role well-suited for her). Director/writer Megan Park’s peppy-at-first comedy pivots on what you might assume is a gimmick, but evolves into something not only funny but profound. Stella is a delight and the scenes between her and Plaza — definitely in a supporting role here — are poignant and hilarious. I was reduced to a puddle by the tender, wise end, and I’m betting you will be too. Details: 3½ stars; opens Sept. 20 in select Bay Area theaters)
“Transformers One”: Even if you feel utterly lost in the tangled “Transformers” universe, or don’t care a ‘bot about it, you’ll enjoy this eye-popping animated adventure outing that digs into the root cause of the franchise’s foundational rivalry — that is, why Optimus Prime and Megatron went from friends to enemies. Oscar-winning director Josh Cooley’s odyssey-like adventure — the best of the eight “Transformers” films, in my opinion — sends best buddies and cogless mining robots Orion Pax (aka Optimus Prime) and D-16 (aka Megatron) on a mission to try to get Energon — the lifeblood of Transformers — to flow again. The lofty goal propels them along with female ‘bot Elita-1 and B-127 (aka Bumblebee) to wander about the surreal surface of their planet Cybertron (one of the high points in this captivating sci-fi journey). The animation in “Transformers One” is spectacular and lavishly detailed, and plummets us into a whole new, intriguing world. Coupled with the humor — Keegan-Michael Key is hilarious as the bungling B-127 — and the across-the-board great vocal cast — particularly Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax and Brian Tyree Henry as D-16 — “Transformers One” will win over kids and adults. Details: 3 stars; opens Sept. 20 in area theaters.
“American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez”: Actor Josh Rivera deserves huge props for tackling a tough, tight-rope assignment, portraying the late, infamous New England Patriots tight end whose meteoric career spun violently, fatally out of control due to a toxic cocktail of drugs, fame, repressed sexuality, football itself and the shadows hounding him from his childhood. And this 10-part FX series captures it all. Executive-produced by Ryan Murphy, the series doesn’t need to warble on for as long as it does, but what compels you to watch is Rivera (“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”). He adeptly navigates Hernandez’s mood swings, his sweaty drug-induced paranoia, his urge to destroy and later kill, and his attraction to men, which brought him considerable pain. It culminates in murder. (Hernandez was convicted in the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Aaron’s fiancée.) Rivera is surrounded by other good actors, including Jaylen Barron as Hernandez’s fiancée Shayanna Jenkins, who slowly discovers her lover and eventual father of her child leads a far more dangerous, duplicitous life than she realized; Tammy Blanchard as his erratic mother Terri Hernandez; Lindsay Mendez as his overly protective aunt Tanya Singleton; and breakout star Ean Castellanos, heartbreaking as Hernandez’s brother, D.J. A variety of directors — including Carl Franklin — never waver in making the story gritty and disheartening. And while the series peers into various factors that contributed to Aaron Hernandez’s undoing, the man himself remains a cipher: driven by desires, and pressured by his ascent from poor teen to rich celebrity at warp speed. Details: 3 stars; two episodes available now on FX, available Sept. 18 on Hulu.
“A Very Royal Scandal”: Two tremendous British actors — Ruth Wilson and Michael Sheen – prove just how exceptional they can be in director Julian Jarrold’s smart three-episode Prime series dramatizing that devastating 2019 BBC interview between journalist Emily Maitlis (Wilson) and Prince Andrew (Sheen). Prince Andrew’s stumbling, oafish responses to Maitlis’ questions over Andrew’s relationship with notorious convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who rounded up girls and women for abusive sexual encounters, was a crash-and-burn moment for royalty echoed throughout the world. Prince Andrew’s links to Epstein and a damning photo of him with Epstein and then 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre (who brought a lawsuit against Prince Andrew) at a party created a firestorm not only for Andrew, as screenwriter Jeremy Brock’s air-tight script reveals, but for Maitlis as well. Her career took a hit, with few political leaders wanting to be interviewed by her afterwards. “A Very Royal Scandal” offers both actors ample opportunities to show why they are so universally praised, and that’s what keeps us interested. Wilson plays Maitlis as a tough but certainly not heartless interviewer, showing the conflicts the trusted journalist encounters. Sheen turns Prince Andrew into a baffled, silver-spooned man way out of his depth and out of touch with reality. Another scene stealer is Joanna Scanlan as Andrew’s often vexed but loyal assistant Amanda Thirsk. She has one of the best scenes when she proffers her assessment of the scandal and its fallout. While nothing in “A Very Royal Scandal” is particularly eye-opening (except for what happened to Maitlis after that interview), it’s worth the watch to see two actors at the top of their game. Details: 3 stars; all three episodes drop Sept. 19 on Prime.
“Girls Will Be Girls”: A prestigious Himalayan school serves as the oppressive backdrop of filmmaker Shuchi Talati’s evocative sexual awakening drama, recipient of the audience award in the World Dramatic competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Preeti Panigrahi received a Special Jury Award for lead actor for her portrayal of book-smart Mira — the first female prefect in the school’s history. She adroitly handles a tough role, expressing with nuance her character’s car wreck of emotions as she confronts the burden of being held to a higher standard because of her gender while wanting to explore a budding desire for handsome new student Sri (Kesav Binoy Kiron). Talati never succumbs to obvious choices in her romantic scenes, and the result is a subtle coming-of-age film reveals a lot more than most films of this genre while addressing some serious issues pertaining to mothers and daughters as well. Details: 3 stars; opens Sept. 20 at the Roxie in San Francisco.
Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.
