Bubble is a 2005 American crime drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh about three low-paid doll factory workers, one of whom is murdered.

Bubble is unusual in that it had no traditional script and used only non-professional actors recruited from the Parkersburg, West Virginia and Belpre, Ohio area, where the film was shot.

[2] In a town near the Ohio River, Martha, a middle-aged single woman, works at a doll factory and cares for her elderly, disabled father.

Kyle is an intensely shy, quiet young man in his early 20s, who suffers from social anxiety disorder and lives with his television-obsessed single mother.

In order to meet demand, the doll factory hires Rose, an attractive young woman Kyle's age who is the single mother of a toddler.

Meanwhile, Martha pawns jewelry (which she says she inherited from family members) and spends the money on fishing equipment and a trip to the beauty parlor.

Soderbergh shot an ending scene where Martha is taken to a hospital after fainting in her jail cell, where she is told by a doctor that a CAT scan has revealed she has a severely malignant tumor.

Test audiences reacted negatively to this scene and felt the film didn't need a specific explanation for Martha's behavior, so it was left out of the final cut.

[10] Some theater owners refused to screen the film in protest of the simultaneous release, fearing that a move toward on-demand home viewing would hurt the livelihood of the moviegoing industry.

Soderbergh said the deal would give him the opportunity to explore artistic ground not usually supported by major studios, while also providing new ways of reaching film audiences.

But if that doesn’t happen, I’ll be pleased if people just see the DVD or watch it on TV.”[12] With a rollout similar to Bubble, all of the six films would also be site-specific, utilize a nonprofessional cast, and provide what the director called "a sort of oblique angle on what it's like to be in America.

"[13] Bubble did not recoup its $1.6 million budget in theaters or on home video, and the producing partners that oversaw the company's deal with Soderbergh left in 2007.

The resulting wounds and resentments are all the more real for being largely unacknowledged: These characters have seen their needs and aspirations beaten down for so long that they can barely recognize, let alone articulate, them any more.

"[22] In a four-star review, Roger Ebert wrote, "The characters are so closely observed and played with such exacting accuracy and conviction that 'Bubble' becomes quietly, inexorably, hypnotic.

"[23] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said, "Easier to admire than love, 'Bubble' is a fascinating exercise that seems calculated to repel most audiences, which probably suits Mr. Soderbergh just fine.

"[13] Desson Thomson of The Washington Post wrote, "Soderbergh and screenwriter Coleman Hough aren't interested in creating a coy whodunit so much as evoking the deeper, less romantic mysteries of people -- and it's riveting."