The Brown Bunny

Vincent Gallo's second film as auteur par excellence--he's credited as producer, writer, director, director of photography, and editor, as well as star--was savaged when it premiered at Cannes in 2003, and was finally released to theatres in 2004 in a much-shortened version (cut from 118 to 92 minutes). A technically ragged, brooding road movie, The Brown Bunny serves up a reasonably coherent story of grief and remorse focusing on Bud Clay (Gallo), a haggard, depressed motorcyclist who loses a race on the East Coast and proceeds slowly back to California. Along the way he encounters a variety of women with whom he fails to connect, while also displaying a weird fascination with rabbits--ostensibly because his former girlfriend Daisy (Chloe Sevigny) had one as a pet. The picture ends with Daisy visiting Bud in his hotel room and engaging in a prolonged and graphic oral sex scene, before a flashback reveals that her sudden appearance is not what it seems. There are a few isolated moments in The Brown Bunny that come close to being interesting, but most of the film is alternately tediously repetitive and repulsive. Ultimately, this is a narcissistic vanity project that feels like the indie equivalent of Heaven's Gate, an exercise in gross self-indulgence that proves one can make a catastrophe as easily on no money as on a bloated budget. All that is required is a huge ego. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)