Advantageous


Advantageous is a 2015 American science fiction drama film directed by Jennifer Phang and written by Jacqueline Kim and Jennifer Phang. The film stars Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, and Samantha Kim. The film was released exclusively to Netflix on June 23, 2015.

Plot

Set in the near future, Gwen sells cosmetic procedures for the Center For Advanced Health And Living. Despite her relatively affluent position in life she works below scale and is having difficulty sustaining a lifestyle that will ensure her daughter, Jules, has a solid education and future. When she is abruptly fired from her job, Gwen's optimism quickly dissolves as she realizes the only offer she has for employment is as an egg donor, as women are rapidly becoming infertile. The firing comes at a critical juncture in Gwen's life because she needs money to ensure Jules's position at an elite school.
Desperate, Gwen reaches out to her old employers, asking Fisher to use her as one of the first subjects to transfer her consciousness into a new body, allowing her to keep her old job by becoming more youthful and racially ambiguous. Fisher assures her that if she agrees to the body transfer the Center will do everything they can to ensure Jules's future and protect Gwen as the face of the company. He also warns her the procedure is in its infancy; for a year, Gwen will have to take shots to help her breathe every two hours and will face enduring pain. He explains the technology is not finished yet and begs her to reconsider.
Before agreeing to the procedure, Gwen tries one last desperate measure. She reaches out to her cousin Lily and Lily's husband Han for help. Gwen and Han had an affair years ago, and, though Lily is forgiving of the affair, her attitude changes once she learns Gwen has a child fathered by Han. She tells Gwen they need more time to think about helping her, especially considering the suddenness of the news, but Gwen tells her she has no time. Lily says she and her husband cannot spare the money, as they have children of their own.
Gwen breaks the news of her procedure to Jules, who seems understanding. Together, they go to see Gwen's future body. After Christmas, Gwen completes the procedure and returns home in a new body, Gwen 2.0. Though she is disoriented and in pain, she does her work for the center well. Jules, warned that her mother might be slightly different, takes care of her and administers her shots when she has difficulty breathing. However, Gwen 2.0 has trouble understanding and relating to Jules after the procedure. She tells Fisher she wants to separate from Jules, thinking Jules can take care of herself and she needs the time alone. Fisher is furious and reveals to Gwen 2.0 that she is not actually Gwen, but a twin that was implanted with Gwen's memories; he explains the twin process to her because he thinks it will be easier for the twin Gwen to merge with the donor's memories if she does not know. Gwen's original consciousness died during the procedure, but she was willing to go through with it to ensure her daughter's future. Gwen 2.0 is unaffected by the news and tells Fisher the part of Gwen that loved Jules did not transfer. When she returns home, she tells Jules that her mother is dead. Jules initially hides the shot Gwen 2.0 needs to breathe but finally gives it to her. When she tells Gwen 2.0 she is not sure why she is alive, Gwen 2.0 reassures her that her kindness is unique to her. Jules tells her she sounds like her mother.
Gwen 2.0 sees a message from Lily and Han where they apologize for their initial dismissal and tell her that they want to help her and Jules. Gwen 2.0 goes to their home and breaks the news about Gwen to them. Later she organizes a picnic where Jules can meet Han, Lily and their boys for the first time.

Production

A Good Neighbors Media production in association with D.K. Entertainment and I Ain't Playin' Films. Produced by Robert Chang, Jennifer Phang, Jacqueline Kim, Theresa Navarro, Moon Molson, Ken Jeong.
Co-producers, James Y. Shih, Qi Luo, Sean GIllane, Liz Ortiz-Mackes, Bogdan George Apetri, Clifton Lewis.
Crew: Directed by Jennifer Phang. Screenplay, Jacqueline Kim, Phang. Camera, Richard Wong; editor, Sean Gillane, Phang; music, Timo Chen; production designer, Dara Wishingrad; costume designer, Stacey Jordan; conceptual designer, Aiyana Trotter; sound Tyson Dai; sound designer, Tyler Straub; re-recording mixer, James LeBrecht; visual effects supervisors, Catherine Tate, Ricardo Marmolejo, Jason Patnode; assistant director, Yasmine Gomez; casting, Liz Ortiz-Mackes
Pre-Production
Advantageous in its feature form debuted at Sundance 2015. The foundation of the film was originally shot by Phang and Kim as a 23-minute short film, with ITVS for Futurestates. Phang is known to be heavily involved with the filmmaking process, she directed and co-wrote the film as well as achieving a shared editing credit. Kim began as the star of the short film until Phang asked her to co-write the short into a feature. Pre-production lasted about a year while Kim and Phang took turns writing the short. The casting process was not too difficult because most of the cast were re-casts from the short. The film was influenced by Age of Innocence, Mad Men, Battlestar Galactica and Ghost in the Shell. Phang was connected with most of her VFX artists from her previous film Half Life, in 2008. Phang wanted to create a city that was not recognizable, so they filmed in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Since the budget was so low, they also could not create a city from scratch, so having many different cities for locations was ideal for Phang.
Filming
Filming began in 2012 in New York City, New York when Phang was making Advantageous as a short. This foundation grew over the course of 2013-2014, when they expanded locations to Los Angeles and San Francisco, to then be released as a feature, in 2015. The Cinematographer, Richard Wong worked closely with Phang during production. He was able to find incredible masters on small sets. Lighting was created by Wong and Seng Chen. Lots of the footage was also shot by Ming Kai Leung, when in Los Angeles.
Post Production
Sean Gillane and Phang worked together using Premiere Pro and After Effects. They traded the cut back and forth until the end. Sean produced supplemental motion graphics and comps while editing. Phang and Sean used Dynamic Link to jump easily from Premiere Pro to After Effects when creating VFX with the VFX team. Phang needed an additional editor and met Gena Bleier, through one of her producers Moon Molson, and hired her. Bleier previously cut The Bravest, The Boldest, which then went to the Sundance and Clermont Ferrand. Phang worked with VFX Art Director, Jean Elston, and a design team to create a concept for buildings. In the script, there are two buildings, the Cryer and the Orator. The Cryer is a mannequin shaped building with water spilling down its neck, mimicking crying. The Orator has smoke coming from its mouth to express the struggle women have when they speak their mind to the world and dissipate into the sky. The buildings were designed by Elston and Phang and Executed by Catherine Tate, Ricardo Marmolejo, and Jason Patnode, working with a talented group of VFX and CG artists.

Soundtrack

Song list
Timo Chen is the composer of the soundtrack. He is a pianist, virtuoso guitarist, versatile composer, arranger songwriter, and music producer. Chen studied at the USC Community School of Performing Arts and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. The lead, Jacqueline Kim, is a pianist, so Phang wanted to incorporate the piano in most of the soundtrack so Kim could play in the film. Phang wanted most of the songs to talk about Jesus Christ so she can focus on the theme of Patriarchy and following the leadership of men in the world. Phang started brainstorming ideas for sound, with Timo Chen during pre-production. Phang was looking for sounds that are organic and technological at the same time. Chen used a variety of different mechanisms to achieve Phang’s sound goals, including, a toothbrush, vibrator, and a professional violinist. Phang also worked with, sound designer, Tyler Straub, to create sounds that could be familiar to the audience, like Apple products.

Cast

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2015. The film was released exclusively to Netflix on June 23, 2015.

Reception

, a review aggregator, reports that 80% of 15 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 6.6/10. Metacritic rated it 59/100 based on nine reviews. Dennis Harvey of Variety called it a "thinking person's sci-fi tale" whose methodical pacing eventually slows down to a near-crawl. Leslie Felperin wrote, "Perhaps the perfect film for geeky women's studies majors, this is bursting with interesting ideas and details but has some significant flaws". Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote, "It’s a kick to see how effectively Ms. Phang has created the future on a shoestring even if she hasn’t yet figured out how to turn all her smart ideas into a fully realized feature." G. Allen Johnson of the San Francisco Chronicle rated it 3/4 stars and wrote that "the last half hour is so irresistibly creepy that it's sure to invoke discussion after the screening".
Alan Scherstuhl of The Village Voice wrote that the film "demands we consider just how much beauty-minded societies demand of women". Because of its unconventional structure, Scherstuhl says it is likely to alienate viewers who are looking for a traditional story. Kevin P. Sullivan of Entertainment Weekly rated it C and called it a "missed opportunity". Mike D'Angelo of The Dissolve rated it 3/5 stars and wrote that despite the feature film adaptation's filler, fans of intelligent science fiction may be interested. Diego Costa of Slant Magazine rated it 1.5/4 stars and wrote, "Advantageouss visual effects are sophisticated for a low-budget film, and the acting is pleasantly realistic, but filmmaker Jennifer Phang portrays this very near future like a universe of such quietness and sterility that it's difficult to care about its inhabitants."
Advantageous creators Jennifer Phang and Jacqueline Kim won a Sundance Special Jury Award for Collaborative Vision, and the film was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Awards

Advantageous took home editing, score, and directing awards at the LA Asian Pacific Film Fest in 2015. The lead, Jacqueline Kim also won a jury award for her Renaissance Artist accomplishments for co-writing and starring in the feature.
2015
Advantageous
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