Netflix is strange. I often scroll an inappropriate amount of time looking for something of interest. When it’s my turn to choose, either it’s a movie my boyfriend has already seen, or it’s only been rated with 2 stars. We learned the hard way not to give the 2 stars a chance – they’re rated low because they’re terrible. Trust the stars. We often have to abandon the Xbox to look on our phones, as they seem to provide a wider range of choice.
Last night however, it thankfully wasn’t my turn to choose. I was busy in the kitchen, leaving my boyfriend the laborious task of choosing. After about 3 minutes I hear “Molly, do you want to watch this?”
I could spend 40 minutes going through each category. In particular, even though I know all the scary movies are awful, I still read almost every abridgment to see if they’re worth risking the 2 star rating (No! Never!).
He had chosen a movie called ‘Advantageous’. Written and starring Jacqueline Kim, Netflix doesn’t give much away about the plot with the synopsis saying “In her profession, getting older isn’t an option. Science has a solution, but it’s the ultimate sacrifice. (2015)”
It opens with a young girl and her mother singing in French, playing piano. They’re in a normal looking apartment, suitable for two bodies to live comfortably. It’s the kind of apartment I would like, lots of warm colours among the organised clutter of books and furniture, lamps tucked away in the corners, not a computer or television in sight.
Gwen Koh (Jacqueline Kim) and her 13 year old daughter, Jules (Samantha Kim) obviously have a close relationship. Thinking back on it now, I automatically assumed Gwen to be a single parent, judged purely on the first scene of the film. The intro is slightly drawn out, comprising of mostly arty farty shots of children leaping about an unidentifiable city and close ups of Gwen and Jules’ face. The movie kick starts into action when something zooms over the head of Jules and her friends. It’s only when the camera follows her gaze towards the sound in the sky, we find the movie is actually set in the future, because nothing says an opulent future like a really fast hovercraft!
At the beginning, Gwen seems to be a highly powered individual in a prestigious company, which seems to specialize in innovative technology surrounding medical procedures aimed at making people look younger. In time, we find that Gwen can no longer be regarded as the spokesperson of the business due to her age and appearance. This comes at the worst possible time for Gwen, as Jules is transitioning into a secondary school which happens to have astronomical fees. Naturally, Gwen wants what’s best for her child, but it’s also reiterated to the audience how brilliant Jules is. Extremely talented in all aspects of academia, including music and foreign languages, we are handed the impression that Jules and her mother have worked extremely hard to be where they are in this society, where women seem to have lost the battle for equality.
Having been made redundant, Gwen desperately seeks for a way to fund the tuition. She has a limited number of options. Unable to find another well paid job, or unwilling to wait for it, she turns to her family. We find she is not close to her parents due to their contrasting religious beliefs, and the relationship she has with Jules’ father, Han (played by Ken Jeong*) is more complicated than most. She does go to him, he does not want to help, but for understandable reasons. She seeks her estranged cousin who ultimately cannot bring herself to cooperate, due to a betrayal some years before.
The futuristic setting of this movie is very subtle, holographic phone calls, tiny blue-tooth ear pieces, the aforementioned hovercraft’s, but what really makes it hauntingly believable is the way in which society seems to have deemed women as useless after the age of 40. The desperation portrayed by Jacqueline Kim becomes increasingly intense, and we find her putting herself in a hazardous position only a very reckless woman could do. She returns to her previous employers and offers herself up for a new experimental procedure. This will reinstate her high up in the company, providing her with a salary which will secure the future for not only Jules and her education, but the modest lifestyle they both continue to live.
Needless to say, the movie progresses into dark territory. Gwen tries to hide that she is struggling, but Jules (being as intelligent as she is) raises awkward questions which her mother clearly wants to avoid. Despite deciding to discuss the procedure in depth with her daughter in order to prepare them both, Gwen fails to mention that she has no other option, stating that the procedure is for the good of her career. The bond that mother and daughter have is tested to breaking point after it is followed through. The unanswered question lingers “Was it worth it?” – Especially when it’s uncovered that Gwen may not have had to make such a subitaneous decision to participate in this drastic, experimental measure.
In all truths, this movie made me sad. The divide between men and women in society was far more pronounced, but after contemplating it a little, perhaps I’m just ignorant to the struggles which older women have? I feel there is currently a conscious movement towards empowering young women to achieve, but what upset me about this depiction of the near future, is that this current movement seems to have fallen flat on it’s face.
I would never have regarded myself as a feminist. My only experience with a true feminist would be my old sociology teacher who almost daily crammed it down my throat – The thought that the only reason women did anything was for the pleasure of men was sickening. I have come realise that this is not the case, and that I do feel strongly about feminism. Men and women are different, but equal too. It’s no use getting upset if a male were to say I couldn’t be a fireman, because I wouldn’t want to. I’d be terrible at fighting fires. I can’t even do a push up. Similarly, it’s no use getting upset if a man were to say they couldn’t be a midwife. Most men have no idea about childbirth.
This movie highlighted the importance of remembering the ‘different but equal’ mantra that has been ticker taping around my brain since I watched it. I’ve mentioned before that I hate how women are pressured to be something they’re not, and this film depicts a worst-case scenario eventuality I do not want to have arrived at on my 41st birthday.
A highly recommended watch.
mollysbook 