If Soderbergh did make the movie slow and boring on purpose to illustrate the slow boring life of that town, I think it took away from the movie more than it added.

“..if maybe Soderbergh did all of this…on purpose to really hit home the slow simple life of the smaller Midwestern town..”

Maybe he did aim for this and maybe intended it to be an eye opener for so-called city-slickers. I kind of doubt it though, as I have a feeling their (city-slickers)lives are just as “slow & simple” as small-towners. The two characters whom we were first introduced to both seemed like their wake up-work-sleep-repeat-lives were depressing. I think a pretty good illustration of this is the scene where the fat lady was sitting in the church alone until dark. That’s not totally ordinary. Based on the stats, ” 9.5% of the adult population in the United States of America suffers from clinical depression “. Where am I going with this? Maybe just maybe Soderbergh was trying to get this point across? I don’t really think he intended any deeper meaning that what was presented on screen, but I think my rational makes it seem slightly better. Take it for what it’s worth. Also, if you watched the alternate/extended ending, it made the 1st ending seem slightly better too. I’m not going to ruin it for everyone unless someone requests of me to do so. During most of the movie I was doing some minor wood working, so I think that’s how I managed not be bitten by the “is something going to happen? Bug”. When I described this movie to someone else, I said, “it was really slow, but short, but far from exciting by all means. Also, I’d say it’s like watching a TV show that you don’t really like when you’re home from school sick, and there is nothing else on but “CSPAN 2 Book TV”. Which according to what you said, seems like a pretty accurate assessment.

–Jon