BUBBLE REVIEW

Bubble, directed by Steven Soderbergh, is a drama set in an American small town. This contemporary film shows the sad lives of two wowen and a man who work in a factory that manufactures dolls.The first character is Martha (Debbie Doebereiner), a middle-aged woman whose best friend is Kyle (Dustin James Ashley), a tall young man who is intensely shy and very quiet, although he opens up with Martha. And Rose (Misty Dawn Wilkins), an attractive single mother who joined the company after them.

The film reflects modern contemporary relationships in America. These contemporary relationships are played out within an arena of jealousy and feeling of betrayal which ultimately result in murder.

Martha initial jealousy is understandable. When Rose arrives she immediately attracts Kyle's attention, and Martha felt that her best friend Kyle, irrespective of the age difference, had found a person who made him feel special. Before Rose's arrival, Martha and Kyle spent so much time together and they had developed a close relationship. This jealousy becomes extremely obsessional which I can consider to be unrealistic.

The themes of jealousy and betrayal are magnified by Steven Soderbergh direction. This is achieved in a numbers of ways by the suffocating relationships of the characters. For example, Martha has only a friend, Kyle, because she has to spend most of her time working and taking care of her father.

At work she only talks to him, she doesn´t know anyone else, and as she says at the film she considers Kyle her best friend.

Another example is Kyle who had social anxiety disorder at high school and now that he has grown he continues having socialization problems. He's very shy so he only opens up with Martha.

Scenes are filmed in 4 or 5 locations. Adding to a feeling of intensity which echoes the characters emotions. Steven Soderbergh films many of the scenes creating an atmosphere of darkness which reflects the dark feelings of jealousy and betrayal.

Soundtrack complimented the film. The only music is during little scenes where we watch a character do something, and the music is as simple as some chords played on an acoustic guitar. The music is as simple as characters' lives.

Moreover, the actors are real people using real dialogue and less acting and more just going about their day. Their speech is such a monotone of commonplaces that we have to guess about how they really feel, and sometimes, we suspect, so do they.

The film is also extremely short at 73 minutes, which plays right into the style and simpleness of the film itself. Although, at the end I feel dissatisfied as there were a lot of loose ends that didn´t deal in many issues. But maybe this is the essence of that film: the interpretation and experimentation.You have to really like experimental, art films to like this one.

In conclusion, I may say that the title is perfect for the film because it mirrors characters' lives, they live in a bubble: Martha and Kyle don't know a lot of people and they don't go out too much. But when Rose arrives that bubble bursts.