Rubber (2010)

Undescribable Perfection

Perfect cast and a good story

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

After recently watching The Pianist, I next watched Rubber. One can argue what a great film The Pianist may be, but to argue that Rubber is something other than garbage is a total waste of time.

Getting past the possessed auto tire issue, an interesting plot with cheesy acting. It could have been much better with more defined character development and stronger story line.

The first scene of this movie tells us what this movie is going to mean, and that meaning is nothing or rather I should say "no reason". With this in mind were off to our journey of following a killer tire. Yes, you read that right we are following a seemingly sentient tire that goes on a murder rampage starting from small animals to a small community of people. I am not going to go in anymore detail in the movie and start to tell you why I enjoy this movie. I like the way it was shot, for a whole lot of nothing the film actually looks good, the desert atmosphere adds to this film. I feel like if it was shot somewhere else it wouldn't be as good. The cinematography is very smooth, there are no quick cuts, edits or jerky camera movement everything seems to flow very fluidly despite the odd nature of the film. The characters are self aware of the movie, like they aren't characters in it but are watching the events happen from a distance. Half way through this movie your'e probably going to ask yourself "why am I watching this movie", and maybe that's the point (despite the opening saying otherwise) Why do we watch movies? and why do we enjoy them? what makes a movie good or bad? or is it all subjective to the viewer. That is just my interpretation of the movies message, or at the very least the question I asked myself throughout this movie. That being said, it's not for everyone, it's slow, it's odd, and to most meaningless. But if you're in the mood for something experimental, but not off in the deep end check it out.

A perfectly good idea ruined by over-explanation and "look how clever we are" winks. Good jokes don't give the punchline away before the setup, great art doesn't demand you read a thesis to walk you through it. The introduction and frame story here did nothing but detract from the perfectly acceptable conceptual element of this film. It feels like a "Mulholland Drive" or "Lost Highway" if David Lynch had filmed an additional 45 minutes of footage to both pad out an inconsistent idea as well as spoon-feed his audience the point he was making. If the point is "just because", SHOW it. Don't tell us straight out. Let us see/experience it through the visuals and story. Take the idea and run with it, don't falter and just blurt it out. What's the point in watching the rest? Overall: a terrible failure that could have been something great.