Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? The Substance and Anora are two movies that came out in late 2024. Both movies were lionized and received many awards and nominations. Nonetheless, the movies were often compared to one another.
The Substance is a 2024 movie starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qually, which is centered around the idea of “a better version of yourself”. It received much praise from critics, was nominated numerous times for various awards, and received one Oscar win. The second movie that was highly acclaimed was Anora starring Mikey Madison. This movie is about the main character, a young girl, Anora, getting the chance to meet the son of an oligarch. Additionally, this movie was nominated many times and won 5 Oscars. Both 2024 movies were extremely successful but were frequently compared with each other by their fans. For example, there have been numerous fans of The Substance bringing down the movie Anora because it had won an Oscar.
The Substance was released on September 20th of 2024. It is a horror, drama film that follows the main character through her struggles with the substance. The main character is played by Demi Moore and her other half is played by Margaret Qualley, a rising Hollywood star. The movie is quite grotesque and disturbing with the special effects. The movie uses a female perspective to show how the entertainment industry can affect beauty standards. Some people found the movie to be far too long for its genre but others thought it was quite fast-paced. The effects and makeup in this movie stood out to many as it was disgustingly good. One movie review said, “The Substance instantly became one of my favorite horror films of all time. Top-notch acting, amazing filmography, and an excellent relatable story.” The movie received 1 Oscar award, 274 nominations and 138 wins overall. When I watched the movie I couldn’t look away as the bright colors and watching the main character plunge into sadness due to the balance being disrupted was very entertaining.
Anora follows a young woman from Brooklyn who meets the son of a Russian oligarch. They quickly get married, but once this news reaches the boy’s parents in Russia everyone rushes to get the marriage annulled in New York. One thing that stood out to many in this movie would no doubtably be the amazing acting skills of the actress Mikey Madison. A review said, “Anora is a grittier experience. All the performances are impressive and I will not be surprised if Madison receives an Oscar nomination.” Other people who watched the movie especially enjoyed the second half of the movie for the humorous writing and characters. The movie received 5 Oscar awards, 265 nominations and in total 149 wins. As I watched the movie, in the beginning I was a bit hesitant to continue as it was a bit slow. Though as I continued, I was glad I did because the second half really made the whole movie as well as the many twists and turns in the plot.
Both films had their own significant factor that brought them to be so lionized. Many people admire the amazing acting performed by Anora´s Mikey Madison for her first leading role. For The Substance, it is feted for its deeper meaning, as the entertainment industry vilifies aging and creates unreasonable beauty standards for women, and for its gore and makeup that made some people sick. Most of the hate towards one or the other actress was mainly caused by them winning an Oscar. The audiences thought that the Substance and its leading actress, Demi Moore, deserved the Oscar more than Anora and its leading actress, Mikey Madison.
In the end, both movies are great in their own ways and the actresses shouldn’t be pit against each other for doing their jobs. The two movies both received great acclaim from their respective audiences and yet both actresses also received unreasonable hate. This should not be done again as these women are getting hate for winning an award fairly. I would foster both these movies as they are both magnificent in writing, directory, and acting.
