London-based production house Spindle has added to its roster the Coyle-Larner Brothers–a directorial duo consisting of brothers Ryan and Ben Coyle-Larner–for film content representation worldwide. Ben is most notably known as critically acclaimed musician Loyle Carner, but after creatively conceiving his award-winning music promos to date, he has taken the next step to see his creative visions come to life by taking to the directors chair with his brother, a collaborator whom he trusts and respects. Ryan grew up on the sets of Ben's music videos and was even featured in some, which led to a passion for writing scripts and telling stories through film. Admiring the work of cinematographers took him behind the camera as a photographer and he has previously worked as a DP on several short films. The brothers have just made their directorial debut with an Arlo Parks music video, “Eugene,” produced by Spindle….
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
The one rule to follow is that... Read More