THE BROWN BUNNY
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
Whereas writer, director and star Vincent Gallo's BUFFALO '66 was merely bad, his THE BROWN BUNNY is artistically awful. A pretentious and self-serving set of what looks like home movies, THE BROWN BUNNY's favorite visuals are out-of-focus sequences shot through a bug-splattered windshield. A much longer version of the film, screened at the Cannes Film Festival, was reportedly greeted with a loud chorus of "Boo's!" which I find shocking. I had great difficulty in staying awake in even the shorter version of this listless movie. A longer version should have induced such mass slumber than it would be hard to believe that enough people were awake to produce catcalls.
The film's sparse dialog is all spoken just above a whisper. Gallo plays a disheveled loner with the manly name of Bud. The women are named after flowers.
Gallo, who is also "credited" -- what a misnomer -- with the film's cinematography and editing, appears to be in love with his body. The favorite part of his anatomy is the back of his head, which frequently covers the entire screen in extreme close-ups. We also get long, lingering shots of his ear and his nose. Less lingering but none-the-less prominent is his male member, which is shown in a non-simulated sex scene with his costar Chloë Sevigny, who plays Bud's crack-smoking girlfriend, Daisy. Gallo is as well endowed as some porn stars, but, if you're looking for some cheap thrills, THE BROWN BUNNY will prove a definite disappointment.
In one of the story's many tedious incidents, Bud pleads like a 5-year-old with Violet (Anna Vareschi), a convenience store clerk whom he has just met. As she tries to get him to settle his bill, he implores her in a whisper, "please (pause) please (pause) please come with me." She will, of course, abandon everything and leave town with this slobbish stranger. And he will, as you suspect, treat her badly. The whole movie will treat you badly. Avoid it at all costs, unless, that is, you are in desperate need of a sleep aid.
THE BROWN BUNNY runs a long 1:32. It is not rated but would be NC-17 for graphic sex, nudity and hard drug usage and would be acceptable for adults.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday September 3, 2004. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the Camera Cinemas.
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