The 2010 comedic French film, Rubber, is definitely unique, to say the least. Rubber tells the story of a tire that uses the power of telepathy to kill people. Yes, that is probably one of the weirdest plots that have ever been committed to film, but before jumping to conclusions about the film as a whole, take into consideration the subplot. The second plot follows a group of people as they watch the main plot (i.e. the murderous tire). The thing that connects both of these plots is a police officer named Lieutenant Chad who talks to both the audience watching the main film and the characters in the main film.
The film starts out with Lieutenant Chad talking to the audience about things in films that happen for no reason, which becomes the main theme throughout the entirety of Rubber. While this seems like an interesting subject, after the third time of the tire rolling with nothing going on, it gets tedious. The main film feels like a parody of a student or artsy film when it cuts to the audience from the tire and back again. The characters usually say the things that most people say watching these kinds of films, and they are really fun to watch.
When it comes to the acting in Rubber, the actors really step up to the challenge in trying to give this piece life. The audience does a great job in showing how actual audiences react to these kinds of films. Stephen Spinella, who plays Lieutenant Chad, really brings a healthy dose of interest to the movie subplot, which the tire portions don’t have. The other great actor in the film is Wings Hauser, who plays the old man in the wheelchair; a character with a refreshing mix of grittiness and comedy.
A film like Rubber is expected to run into problems with its “no reason” storytelling. While it seems like a reasonable idea on paper, a film needs to explain plot points, otherwise it alienates the audience watching it. Not only are there problems with the “no reason” storytelling, there is also a serious pacing problem; there are long stretches of time with only the tire rolling and nothing else happening. During these stretches of time, the film grinds to a halt while the viewer has to wait for the audience to show up again.
Overall, this was a very interesting film to watch, and it’s nice to see someone try something new. However, this is one of the storytelling techniques that no one was clamoring for. Besides some great acting and very interesting special effects, this film has an average feel to it. Not the average “all the way through” it’s more like “it’s bad and then good and then bad” average to it. It’s worth a watch just out of curiosity’s sake, but nothing more beyond that.