SummaryIn a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen (Jacqueline Kim) and her daughter Jules (Samantha Kim) do all they can to hold on to their joy together, despite the instability surfacing in their world.
Directed By:Jennifer Phang
Written By:Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang
Advantageous
Metascore
Mixed or Average
59
User score
Generally Favorable
6.6
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
59
44% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
44% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
11% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Jun 23, 2015
80
Challenging viewers this way — denying clean resolutions, chucking out the urgent drama of the first hour of movie — is bound to alienate some audiences. But from its arresting first scenes, Phang's film is as much about why? as it is what next?
Jun 25, 2015
75
The Bay Area filmmaker’s Sundance Prize-winning film achieves much on a relatively meager budget (it has an impressive futuristic visual design), and the last half hour is so irresistibly creepy that it’s sure to invoke discussion after the screening.
User score
Generally Favorable
6.6
54% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
31% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Aug 6, 2015
8
I heard nothing about this movie before I read the synopsis on Netfix. After watching, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. For me, it was best viewed not like a plot with a definable scheme and story but more as a series of thoughts or concepts. Every scene provoked an idea, posing a question. It didn't really seek to give answers to those questions, which was thematically in lieu with the entire movie. While there may be a more obvious push for a statement about the vacuous natures of society, i felt this was only the backdrop for the deeper aspects of the movie. The visuals were well conceived (but the CGI was a bit bleh). The emphasis on minimalistic spaces, small, boxed, empty rooms with streets and parks seemingly devoid of people (in a purportedly overpopulated world) was perfect. A sense of loneliness pervaded, a feeling of being surrounded by people you can't see, hear or connect with, despite their presence. The dull pastels and muted tones complemented this disconnection. Nothing has bold life, vivid emotions. The plot played out well, hitting notes I didn't expect to see coming. All and all, definitely worth 90 minutes if you are in a mood to ponder, and certainly worth the watch if you have any interest in the role of women. :-) P.S.
Jun 27, 2023
6
For a film format, it was pretty dry. Possibly coming up with this idea would have been a great episode for Black Mirror.
Jun 25, 2015
67
As in a lot of good sci-fi, the movie is set in a particular world, but driven by the characters that inhabit it.
Jun 23, 2015
60
Advantageous presents an offbeat, intimate dystopian vision that is strongly intriguing for a while. But just when it should shift from a focus on ideas to emotional involvement, the pic instead grows slower and less engaging.
Jun 23, 2015
50
It’s no surprise to learn this was developed from a short film; it has a short’s fragmented, tone-poem quality, but not the sustained coherence of a feature.
Jun 24, 2015
38
The dialogue is so disaffected it's as if humans were replicants even before going through the aforementioned twin-making procedure.
Oct 18, 2021
5
A slow burner that didn't catch me, despite its interesting premise. Apparently from what I understand, director Jennifer Phang expanded on the original story of a short film.
How good of an idea was that? I'm not really sure.
Awards
VC FilmFest - Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
• 4 Wins & 5 Nominations
Sundance Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
