It takes balls to label a film “Another Steven Soderbergh Experience” big and bold right on the cover, which is exactly what Mr. Soderbergh has done with the unique simultaneous theater/DVD/cable release of his most recent project, Bubble, a minimalist, low-budget study of the dynamics of a small Any-town, USA, and the effects of a murder upon its citizens.
Soderbergh, in a noted departure from the smooth stylish camera swoops of Ocean’s 11, as well as the shaky, naturalistic freehand of Traffic, here utilizes a more traditional style with sparse but deliberate camera movements, and a plethora of beautiful, well-framed shots showcasing the action.
The focus of our story is Martha, a middle-aged employee at a doll factory in a small town in the Midwest. She and her coworker Kyle, a quiet 20-something, go through the motions; eating together, making small talk, working long hours, etc. It is slowly revealed that Martha may or may not have formed an attraction towards Kyle, as she lives only with her aging father and has no other companion. Soderbergh effectively uses this simple premise to create a intensely accurate portrayal of lower-class, Midwestern suburbia, complete with the uneducated work force, with little ambition and less money, the ever-present smoke breaks, the McDonald's, the dreary horizon, the meaningless dialogue. The story here, while definitely more tragic in it’s tone, reminded me of the early work of Alexander Payne.
But despite the overwhelming mundanity of our character’s lives, Soderbergh, through careful examination via the piercing stare of his camera, gives meaning to the meaningless. Think about it for two seconds and realize the obvious symbolism and irony of the doll factory, the backdrop for a large portion of our story, filled with emotionless carbon copies of people, much like our characters. And it must be mentioned that the two moments of surrealistic, strange happenings in this film work that much better because of how drastically they differ from our overall subject matter.
Soderbergh works with great success to accentuate every awkward pause or moment of sexual tension with his long, calculated silences, set to equally long uncut shots. I found it especially telling of his approach to making this film that because of the lack of dialogue or any traditional character development, we don’t know our main character’s name until we are literally halfway through the film. Notice also that in the style of Reservoir Dogs, the most exciting and interesting part of the story, the incident that fuels the action for most of the film, the murder, isn’t even shown, but rather implied.
Overall, Steven Soderbergh made what may be the greatest rebound in filmmaking history after the Ocean’s 12 debacle. It’s amazing to think that the same man could even be responsible for both of these films. After seeing this, my 8th Soderbergh, I remember why he used to be one of my very favorite directors, and perhaps still is. I’m eagerly awaiting The Good German.
