About two-thirds of the way through 'Bubble,' something actually happens. According to the film's synopsis, toy factory employees in a small town are about to be met with a strange, cold-hearted case. One of their co-workers is going to be murdered. Of course, the question is: Who will it be? And who is going to kill them? These are things the viewer must watch for and try to solve.
The entire movie, prior to the murder, relies on character dynamic. Its viewers are supposed to watch, gather clues, factor in odd behaviors, basically act as detectives. The whodunit approach has worked quite often and quite well in the past, but success stories, such as 'The Usual Suspects,' have something that 'Bubble' blatantly ignores: surprise. It is easy and fun for a viewer to make predictions, but once a prediction becomes the only possible outcome in a murder-mystery plot, where is the story? And more importantly, who cares?
Soderbergh's directorial inconsistency is frustrating. How does one stun with 'Traffic,' surprise with 'Ocean's Eleven,' disappoint with 'Full Frontal' and then make a useless toy like 'Bubble'? Certainly he wished to make a statement with 'Bubble's' simultaneous release on DVD, in theaters and on cable television, but this film, as a piece of art, makes no real difference in the world.
If he is wishing to channel the genius of his early masterpiece 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape,' he fails miserably. 'Bubble' captures a certain disturbing humanity within its pee-stained midst, but it cannot find the novelty that many recent indie films have been making their own. Audiences are getting sick of the same old thing, which is why more and more of them are opting for indie films in the first place. If anybody knows how to shake things up, it should be Soderbergh, but 'Bubble' is a vision of stagnation.
The film shows a piece of small-town America and what happens when that place has been unexpectedly disturbed. If a moviegoer is seeking this kind of entertainment, it is highly recommended that they see 'Capote' instead, but if one insists on watching 'Bubble,' or what has been dubbed 'Another Steven Soderbergh Experience,' there are a few nice things. As usual, Soderbergh has a way with his actors. Much like in 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape,' the poignancy of humanity is quite well done: a woman eating alone at a diner, her tremendous loneliness and the failure she has become. All of these things hurt, even with the no-names in 'Bubble,' but the characters are not particularly unique. This may be because it's hard to adapt an audience to complete strangers in a movie only 73 minutes long. Most animated Disney films are at least 80, and all an audience really needs is a few singing candelabras and enchantment is inevitable.
Where 'Bubble' really goes wrong is the time it takes to invoke sympathy... for anyone. It does not build; it lines things up in one easy direction until the viewer cannot take it anymore, and then all it does is satisfy predictions.
It is clear that the conflict is internal for almost the entire film, but this only works in a script when the internal conflict is unique or unresolved in some tense, weird way. While the movie is rife with tension, the actions taken in 'Bubble' are too easy. It is like watching real life, only without the editing of a documentary or the cunning of a successful indie film. More valid rental choices in the close-to-real-life category are 'Junebug' or 'Moonlight Mile.' Opt away from 'Bubble' unless overtaken by curiosity. In that case, at least it's only 73 minutes long.
