Bubble

I was surprised at how affected I was by 2005's BUBBLE.  As the advertising states, this is another (Steven) Soderbergh "experiment".   Loyal Lamplight Drivel readers will recall that I call such films by this director "stunts".  Such ventures have not always boded well for him (note FULL FRONTAL).  This time, non-professional actors were employed, as were their actual homes and even their wardrobes.  The method makes sense here, creating something that resembles a cross between voyeuristic surveillance video and an episode of a true crime docudrama.  But there are numerous artistic flourishes.

It's a dreary town in Ohio. Very little industry.  Many folks have to suffer two jobs to stay afloat.  Martha (Debbie Doebereiner) and Kyle (Dustin James Ashley) work at a doll factory.  She gives him rides.  They have lunch together every day.  It's a comfortable routine for Debbie, who is middle aged and single, somewhat overweight and plain. She takes care of her elderly father.   Kyle suffers anxiety disorder and rarely retreats from his room at home where he lives with his mother.  He often mumbles unintelligibly.   Does Martha desire some sort of romantic relationship with the considerably younger guy? Does she enjoy some sort of possession over him?

Then one day Rose (Misty Dawn Wilkins), young, slender, and attractive is hired at the factory.  She is a single mother.   It is clear that she has eyes for Kyle.  The lunches become a threesome.  Martha is "scared" by Rose's outgoing personality and her ways.  Of course she becomes jealous of what perhaps is inevitable.

Soon, a character is murdered.   The other characters are questioned by Detective Don Taylor (portrayed very convincingly by real life Det. Decker Moody).  Someone will be seen at the close of BUBBLE bathed in a bright light, similar to one seen earlier, when the character attended a church service.

This slice of life drama is quite skillfully realized by Soderbergh.  Its lack of emotion makes it all the more disturbing and heartbreaking.  Maybe these characters are essentially playing themselves.   As good as say, Siobhan Fallon Hogan might've have been playing Martha, Doebereiner is as natural as I've seen.  I love that Soderbergh used her; it attones for his casting of Julia Roberts in ERIN BROCKOVICH, what I consider a "Star Vehicle" that tailors everything to its marquee name above the title.  That film could've benefited from the BUBBLE approach.