Bubble

Genre: psychological drama
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Release: 2005
Studio: HDNet Films et al. - Magnolia Pictures
Rating: R
MBiS score: 7.9/10


Making Dolls That Others Play With


For Martha Hightower (Debbie Doebereiner), who lives in a small Ohio town, a typical weekday leaves little to the imagination. When she gets up in the morning, she always prepares breakfast for her elderly father (Omar Cowan), then hops in her car to pick up her good friend Kyle (Dustin James Ashley). In the toy factory where they are both employed, work has been feverish of late because the bosses are expecting a large order for their products. Luckily, a new worker has been hired, a girl who seems competent enough and a nice person to boot. With Misty Dawn Wilkins (Rose Hillyard), Laurie Lee (Kyle’s mother), Kyle Smith, Decker Moody and Daniel R. Christian. Music by Robert Pollard.

If it is true that you can’t judge a book by its cover, do not ignore this glamourless movie on the basis of my synopsis alone. What we have here is a drama about everyday relationships, the natural bonds people forge in the workplace and sustain in their private lives. Such a premise may seem uninteresting but, believe me, BUBBLE’s setting is not. Its characters interact in an environment as closeted as a cocoon or, should I say, as unyielding as a straitjacket. In a blue-collar town, nobody looks like a million bucks, nobody’s a star but the work gets done… when there is work to do, that is.

There are surprises in BUBBLE – because life is always a volatile mix of emotions and actions – but it would be counterproductive to reveal them just now. So don’t get discouraged if the movie doesn’t reach you at first… it will eventually. Steven Soderbergh’s well-paced psychological study builds its tension very deliberately and, as such, it will require some concentration on your part if you want to fully understand what is going on. Certain clues will lead you to the truth while others won’t. Better yet, some questions will remain unanswered.

To conjure a mood of quiet decay, the creators of BUBBLE made good use of long still shots, dark and depressing sets in red and black and a minimal movie score played on a lone country rock guitar that drives the narrative. In an odd, eerie twist, everyone at the factory complains about the workload but nobody seems particularly rushed. The movie’s story-line is enigmatic and perfectly logical, its characters are effectively drawn and the cast comprised of actors hired on location plays with unfailing credibility.

With BUBBLE, Soderbergh has circumvented the movie industry's usual rules and spotlighted people his big name would have normally overshadowed. In the process, he has delivered a stimulating and uncompromising film about real human beings and real pain. Do see it.


MBiS

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