Bubble – Steven Soderbergh

Prior to directing Bubble, Steven Soderbergh had just made the two worst films of his career.   Full Frontal was an indulgent look at movie-making in Hollywood, while Ocean’s Twelve is the cinematic equivalent of watching somebody else’s holiday snaps.  Both films were packed with stars, from Clooney to Brad Pitt, to Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones.  Both films had something else in common… 

They were rubbish. 

No wonder then, that Soderbergh decided to head for Ohio and make a film set in a doll factory starring a bunch of people who had never acted before.  Bubble sees Soderbergh returning to the wilfully obscure style of his lost period, between the perceived failure of the underrated Kafka and the commercial success of Out of Sight, in which he was free to experiment with low-budget oddities like Schizopolis and The Underneath. 

Set in a dead-end town with few prospects, the opening shot is of a digger tearing up the ground for another arrival in the local cemetery.  A long-shot reveals the amount of US flags next to the headstones, implying these are the graves of young men whose way out meant going to war.  Middle-aged Martha and High School drop-out Kyle are friends despite their differences in age.  They work in a factory putting the parts of dolls together.  Both seem worn down by their lives.  Kyle has another job leaving him with little time to do anything else.  Martha cares for her invalid father.  Things are shaken up by the arrival of a new worker, Rose, an attractive single-mother, who is determined to make enough money to leave town.  When Kyle and Rose begin to develop a relationship Martha feels increasingly left out.  Martha also has suspicions that Rose is a thief.

This could easily be melodrama, all raging passion hidden beneath the surface, but Soderbergh keeps things understated.  People talk as if struggling to find words.  Everybody is trapped by work, lack of money or family obligations.  Even when a murder takes place, the characters seem as sad and broken down as they did before.  The performances Soderbergh gets out of the entire cast are remarkable, especially from a real-life police detective, Decker Moody, as a diligent, compassionate cop investigating the killing.  Moody is quite unlike any ‘proper’ actor playing at being a detective you will ever see.  Casting stars in Bubble would seem out of place, just as casting non-actors in a summer blockbuster would feel wrong.  Hollywood actors never quite convince as poor people with little prospects.  In contrast, Dustin Ashley (Kyle) was working as a pizza delivery-boy, Misty Dawn Wilkins (Rose) is a hair-stylist, while Debbie Doebereiner (Martha) manages a KFC.  None have done any acting work since, but please do them and Steven Soderbergh the honour of seeing Bubble. 

Review by Kevin Sturton
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