Bubble (2005/I)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writer (WGA):

Coleman Hough (written by)

Release Date:

27 January 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Another Steven Soderbergh Experience

Plot:

Set against the backdrop of a decaying Midwestern town, a murder becomes the focal point of three people who work in a doll factory.

Plot Keywords:

Factory | Doll Factory | Investigation | Murder | Hidden Agenda

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Debbie Doebereiner	...	Martha
Omar Cowan	...	Martha's Father
Dustin James Ashley	...	Kyle (as Dustin Ashley)
Phyllis Workman	...	Bakery Shopkeeper
Laurie Lee	...	Kyle's Mother
Daniel R. Christian	...	Factory Supervisor
Misty Wilkins	...	Rose
Madison Wilkins	...	Jesse
K. Smith	...	Jake
Decker Moody	...	Detective Don Taylor
Thomas R. Davis	...	Sergeant Davis
Ross Clegg	...	CSI
Scott Smeeks	...	Officer Smeeks
M. Stephen Deem	...	Pawn Shop Owner
Leonora K. Hornbeck	...	Tackle Shopkeeper

MPAA:

Rated R for some language.

Runtime:

73 min | Hong Kong:73 min (Hong Kong International Film Festival) | Canada:90 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Netherlands:MG6 | Brazil:14 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Belpre, Ohio, USA

Company:

Extension 765

Trivia:

Much of the film's dialogue is improvised.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2006-01-21)" (2006)

Soderbergh's minimalist view on a Gothic small-town 'love triangle': Well worth a glimpse

Lisa Swartzbaum of Entertainment Weekly opened the New York Film Festival screening of "Bubble" by introducing the writer Coleman Hough (a woman, to my minor shock). She said about 10 words and the screening began.

Upon the first scene, any film guru would note that it's amazingly captured on HD. Some scenes I couldn't believe weren't 35mm.

"Bubble" doesn't belittle the simple people it depicts, as many Hollywood-takes-on-small-town-USA films do, but really gives them great depth and complexity. Coming from a small town myself, I felt like I knew the people that were on the screen.

The neurotic "love" triangle that emerges in the film is wonderfully dark and comedic, as is the film entirely. From the assembly of the dolls in the factory to the simple lunch break conversations, everything has a seeded, underlying element of humanity that is both jocular and haunting.

Without giving away anything damaging to the story, "Bubble" is a great escape from Hollywood for both Soderbergh and the public alike with amazing performances by the non-professional leads and supporting cast and an ending that will make you say "Huh?"

8/10 (and for as much as I paid for tickets to the NYFF, Soderbergh should've been there dammit!)