The Substance: From Body to Place. The Uninhabitability of a Cinematic Interior

Abstract

The essay proposes a Bachelardian topoanalysis of The Substance (Fargeat, 2024), approaching the penthouse as a place of dwelling. Through the interpretive axes of mirroring, care, and the duration of dwelling, three phases can be identified – habitability, crisis, and the loss of habitability – which structure the film’s narrative trajectory. Bodily mutations emerge as the translation of a conflict that develops within dwelling, restoring to the domestic interior a generative role in the film’s narrative.