“I didn’t know you were planning a comeback,” Joe Gillis remarks to Norma Desmond. “I hate that word,” the grand dame replies. “It’s a return, a return to the millions of people who have never forgiven me for deserting the screen.
” We will come back to Gloria Swanson and William Holden in Sunset Blvd later. For now let us consider the great comeback – or “return” if the relevant star prefers – of this year’s expiring Cannes film festival . Nobody knew what to expect from The Substance when it was announced in the main competition.
Full-on horrors are rare in the Palme d’Or race. But the festival went wild for Coralie Fargeat’s feature when it premiered on Sunday night. The crowd liked the grotesque body horror.
They enjoyed the digs at Hollywood superficiality. Most of all, they rejoiced at welcoming back the biggest star of 1995. Demi Moore (though technically a decade too old for the role) is perfect as an all-purpose performer who, as 50 looms, avails of a magical substance that causes a younger version of herself – in the form of Margaret Qualley – to emerge gooily from her spinal column.
The older actor remains a kind of living, breathing Picture of Dorian Gray. Never mind all that. The point is that Moore has made one of the great film comebacks.
If the material is not deemed too robust she could even be in the running for an Oscar nomination. Why her? Will she build on the success? What does history tell us? READ MORE It is fair to poi.