I never would have paid any attention to Vincent Gallo's 2003 film The Brown Bunny except for the fact that I enjoyed Gallo's previous solo project (1998's Buffalo 66) very much. By "solo project" I mean that Gallo wrote, directed, and starred in both films.

Gallo also composed the music for Buffalo 66 and is credited as the cinematographer, producer, casting director, set decorator and more for The Brown Bunny. These two films therefore must be highly personal works.

They're almost the same film as well. In both movies, Gallo stars as a lonely guy seeking closure with a past love interest. While the amateurish home-movie look and feel of Brown Bunny almost seems to be a giant step backwards from Buffalo 66, it's also a step forward in a way; as Gallo advances from seeking closure through kidnapping and forcing a woman to be his "girlfriend" to having a fantasy or dream about his lost love. Buffalo 66 depicts a man willing to commit violent crimes while Brown Bunny depicts a law-abiding yet equally disturbed character.

Gallo (as "Bud Clay") is seen participating in a motorcycle race in New Hampshire. The majority of the film depicts his drive in a van, with the motorcycle loaded in the back, to Los Angeles. Along the way he has bizarre encounters with women named after flowers. First "Violet", who he meets in a convenience store, and unbelievably convinces to go to Los Angeles with him. However, when he stops at her house so she can get some belongings for the trip, he drives off without her.

Second is Cheryl Tiegs as "Lilly", who he meets at a highway rest stop. They kiss like teenagers for several minutes with no dialog before Bud continues on his journey.

"Rose" is a prostitute in Las Vegas who Bud picks up and drives around with for awhile before dumping back onto the street.

Bud's name, obviously, also contains a flower reference. What does this mean? I'm not sure. Perhaps "Bud" has not yet blossomed.

Chloe Sevigny as "Daisy" is his final encounter. Meeting in a Los Angeles area hotel room, Daisy retreats to the bathroom to smoke some crack twice. Bud and Daisy discuss their past relationship. Daisy performs oral sex on Bud while Bud makes odd statements such as "You'll never do this for anyone else, will you?" Immediately after his orgasm, Bud calls Daisy a "w___e." (Word not allowed on Epinions.)

It is then revealed that this scene took place only in Bud's imagination. Daisy was raped at a party and then died by choking on her own vomit while unconscious some time ago. Bud witnessed parts of the brutal event but did nothing. He probably could have prevented her death and perhaps stopped the rape in progress.

As Bud lies on the hotel bed, whining in a childlike voice, we then realize the full story of The Brown Bunny: a man riddled with guilt over the death of his lover, knowing he can never find closure with her but desperate to do so.

Ironically, Chloe Sevigny is in real life Vincent Gallo's ex-lover. One wonders how much of The Brown Bunny is fiction. Was the whole point of the movie a deceptive ploy by Gallo to get a BJ from his ex-lover? Perhaps even to publicly humiliate her on film? Was the film cleverly designed by Gallo to appear that way? Or am I reading too much into it? Gallo needed an actress to participate in a graphic sex scene with him, so it makes sense that an ex or current lover would be approached to play the role.

The film is, obviously, very controversial for this scene. There are very few examples in cinema of mainstream actresses like Sevigny doing XXX porn scenes in non-porn films. This is another mystery of The Brown Bunny - was the sex included specifically to generate controversy and make the film much more popular than it would have been without the sex scene?

Now available on DVD (with no extras), I recommend seeing this movie if 1) you like Vincent Gallo films and/or 2) you really want to see Chloe Sevigny's sex scene with Gallo and/or 3) you want to find out about the brown bunny, which I haven't discussed here as having the puzzle revealed is one of the few enjoyments in the movie. The scenery of the cross-country drive is enjoyable in some places, but there's really a lot of it; and often through a dirty windshield.

In conclusion, I think Vincent Gallo is a very interesting filmmaker and that this is an interesting (although not deeply interesting) film which has a documentary feel about it. Gallo fans should enjoy some aspects of it; anyone else will probably be disappointed.









Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age