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Movie Review
The Brown Bunny
By Lee Tistaert Published September 7, 2004
US Release: August 27, 2004
Directed by: Vincent Gallo
Starring: Chloë Sevigny , Vincent Gallo
NR
Running Time: 90 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $366,301
Directed by: Vincent Gallo
Starring: Chloë Sevigny , Vincent Gallo
NR
Running Time: 90 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $366,301
B
14 of 120
May be one of the most pretentious, self-obsessed, boring films you may ever see in your lifetime; for me, it was all three, and yet strangely intriguing.
The Brown Bunny is made for about a hundred filmgoers worldwide, and I happen to be one of them. This is a film experiment that can make you ask for the exit within ten minutes, or make you want to continue along with the journey, if even just in curiosity of what the hell this story means.
Written, produced, and directed by Vincent Gallo (who also stars), this guy had complete creative control over this project, and it shows like a vibrant sign through every frame of this film. The Brown Bunny may be one of the most pretentious, self-obsessed, boring films you may ever see in your lifetime; for me, it was all three, and yet strangely intriguing.
As I was watching The Brown Bunny, I couldn?t help but strike comparisons to another pretentious, self-obsessed, boring film that I liked called Gerry. In that experiment, director Gus Van Sant followed Matt Damon and Casey Affleck through a desert for nearly two hours as the characters simply got lost. The film bared little dialogue, as it was a visual showcase that was meant to put the viewer in the shoes of its characters. We never knew who these two guys were - it was just placing the viewer within the horror of the setting that was the experiment. Gerry succeeded with me because I felt exactly like the guys, stranded, which is what the experiment was meant to do, I think.
The Brown Bunny plays in a similar way as Gerry, though I would even dare to say that more stuff happens in Brown Bunny, as odd as that might sound when I describe it in the next sentence. Gallo plays Bud Clay, a race car driver on a road trip across the United States. He drives alone in his pickup truck, with his motorcycle stored in the back for when he occasionally stops and rides it around on deserted terrain, and also periodically stops to check out women on the road. There you have it: that is the simplest way of describing this film without getting philosophical.
Some people are going to read this review, or hear about the film, and think I?m absolutely crazy ? that is, for even considering to think that this film is admirable in any slight way. You might have heard ?something? about this film in some way: Ebert went bonkers when he saw the first cut at Cannes, calling it one of the worst films he?d ever seen, and the worst ever submitted to Cannes.
Gallo got irritated as a result of this reaction and publicly attacked Ebert on his weight problem in retaliation. Ebert played his next part in the fight by admitting that he did have a weight problem, but that his colonoscopy was more emotionally involving than what Gallo tried to present in 90 minutes. After that statement that you don?t hear every day, The Brown Bunny was hit with buzz considering that an icon critic as such had the guts to say such a thing.
Even weirder yet, recently Ebert turned that statement around after seeing the final cut of the film, and thumbed his review up, calling it a worthy experiment ? now that?s something you don?t hear every day. Ebert said that when the first cut was shown at Cannes, the movie?s slow tone was exaggerated even more than it is now. In the final editing, Gallo ended up cutting twenty-six minutes of unnecessary footage involving (apparently) nothing going on whatsoever.
Part of the film?s impact is brought on by the style of the editing, and one of its more effective devices is the use of the soundtrack. Some of the shots that Gallo holds on while driving on the road could be torturously boring without these other ingredients; for many people these moments would be painful either way, but for others, the difference can be vast.
The other thing that could?ve happened for Ebert, which is more common with these types of film experiments, is that you get through the experience, and your first question is ?What the **** did I just watch?? Gallo doesn?t explain himself much throughout the story, of what story he plays on; however, there are details throughout that add up to something.
The premise seems to be repetitive every step of the way, never showing anything new that would make a revelation about its character. On the other hand, it?s hard to elaborate on the reality of that statement without preaching philosophical interpretations, and these specific meditations are better not thought about beforehand ? it?s what you make of it in the moment.
There are going to be people who make nothing of it and think this is one of the worst films they?ve seen (or partly seen), and that is entirely understandable. To some people it will be meaningless, and that?s why films like The Brown Bunny get so much controversy, because what it offers is so different and ?out there.? How many films get some people raving of their brilliance at the same time as others proclaiming them to be the biggest waste that a talent could ever think up? That is one of the beauties of independent cinema, and experimental film.
The other major controversy surrounding The Brown Bunny ? besides the fact that not much happens for 90 minutes ? is the infamous sexual material. Let me say that when I heard about this film recently, I imagined graphic sex scenes and expected that factor to be extremely offensive. And especially since all I knew was that it was about some guy who drove around on an endless highway, and who sounded like he just had sex with lots of women, how can you not join in to the discussion and go, ?I?m sorry, what?s this again??
Quite possibly the biggest misconception about The Brown Bunny is that it has extensive sexual content. There?s only one scene of sexual material, and it?s at the end; and let me tell you, it really isn?t what people might be expecting. I?m not a pervert, but given all of this controversy it is kind of difficult not to at least be curious as to the truth (it?s kind of like not seeing Gigli eventually ? it just has to be done). The sexual content involves an oral sex moment (and a brief moment of nudity), and you see the action very clearly (so yes, to some people, this might be offensive), but the material also isn?t just applied for the hell of it.
The sexual element to this film is slight in the same way that it was slight in Midnight Cowboy. With that 1969 classic, no such material had ever been exposed to the moviegoing public, and so merely implying the sexual content within that story was what garnered an NC-17 rating. There was barely any nudity in that film and yet the way the controversy erupted, the MPAA made it seem like it was the most offensive film to ever get released. Granted, times were very different back then, but to call The Brown Bunny a sexual experience is a similarly misguided statement.
The Brown Bunny bares another relevance to Midnight Cowboy in its theme. This is a story about a lonely guy who drives across the country on his own, and occasionally tries to spark relationships in the process, but has emotional problems that restrict such a connection. The controversy surrounding this part is whether you give a damn, and Vincent Gallo?s tone in the direction can either make you care about the issues in the subtext, or make you ask for the door.
The Brown Bunny could?ve been another Midnight Cowboy (B+) had the storytelling been approached a bit differently. Midnight Cowboy didn?t hint at such an ego behind the lens, and the story was about finding the American dream that a male prostitute thought existed. The story was also about loneliness and the unusual friendships that can form between different personalities. Brown Bunny has believable performances a la Midnight Cowboy, but Gallo?s script keeps it from being really memorable; his pieces add up, but I would?ve preferred more to happen throughout the premise.
This is a film only recommended to filmgoers who have extreme patience, and I want to stress heavy emphasis on ?extreme? ? there are going to be people even in that group who hate this film to the core. There are going to be others who dig it, but there aren?t going to be many. But even when a film like this comes along and I have a hardcore disliking to it, I find it hard not to at least admire the courage within the talent; far too many movies every year are average in their offerings, and films like Brown Bunny break that pattern.
Written, produced, and directed by Vincent Gallo (who also stars), this guy had complete creative control over this project, and it shows like a vibrant sign through every frame of this film. The Brown Bunny may be one of the most pretentious, self-obsessed, boring films you may ever see in your lifetime; for me, it was all three, and yet strangely intriguing.
As I was watching The Brown Bunny, I couldn?t help but strike comparisons to another pretentious, self-obsessed, boring film that I liked called Gerry. In that experiment, director Gus Van Sant followed Matt Damon and Casey Affleck through a desert for nearly two hours as the characters simply got lost. The film bared little dialogue, as it was a visual showcase that was meant to put the viewer in the shoes of its characters. We never knew who these two guys were - it was just placing the viewer within the horror of the setting that was the experiment. Gerry succeeded with me because I felt exactly like the guys, stranded, which is what the experiment was meant to do, I think.
The Brown Bunny plays in a similar way as Gerry, though I would even dare to say that more stuff happens in Brown Bunny, as odd as that might sound when I describe it in the next sentence. Gallo plays Bud Clay, a race car driver on a road trip across the United States. He drives alone in his pickup truck, with his motorcycle stored in the back for when he occasionally stops and rides it around on deserted terrain, and also periodically stops to check out women on the road. There you have it: that is the simplest way of describing this film without getting philosophical.
Some people are going to read this review, or hear about the film, and think I?m absolutely crazy ? that is, for even considering to think that this film is admirable in any slight way. You might have heard ?something? about this film in some way: Ebert went bonkers when he saw the first cut at Cannes, calling it one of the worst films he?d ever seen, and the worst ever submitted to Cannes.
Gallo got irritated as a result of this reaction and publicly attacked Ebert on his weight problem in retaliation. Ebert played his next part in the fight by admitting that he did have a weight problem, but that his colonoscopy was more emotionally involving than what Gallo tried to present in 90 minutes. After that statement that you don?t hear every day, The Brown Bunny was hit with buzz considering that an icon critic as such had the guts to say such a thing.
Even weirder yet, recently Ebert turned that statement around after seeing the final cut of the film, and thumbed his review up, calling it a worthy experiment ? now that?s something you don?t hear every day. Ebert said that when the first cut was shown at Cannes, the movie?s slow tone was exaggerated even more than it is now. In the final editing, Gallo ended up cutting twenty-six minutes of unnecessary footage involving (apparently) nothing going on whatsoever.
Part of the film?s impact is brought on by the style of the editing, and one of its more effective devices is the use of the soundtrack. Some of the shots that Gallo holds on while driving on the road could be torturously boring without these other ingredients; for many people these moments would be painful either way, but for others, the difference can be vast.
The other thing that could?ve happened for Ebert, which is more common with these types of film experiments, is that you get through the experience, and your first question is ?What the **** did I just watch?? Gallo doesn?t explain himself much throughout the story, of what story he plays on; however, there are details throughout that add up to something.
The premise seems to be repetitive every step of the way, never showing anything new that would make a revelation about its character. On the other hand, it?s hard to elaborate on the reality of that statement without preaching philosophical interpretations, and these specific meditations are better not thought about beforehand ? it?s what you make of it in the moment.
There are going to be people who make nothing of it and think this is one of the worst films they?ve seen (or partly seen), and that is entirely understandable. To some people it will be meaningless, and that?s why films like The Brown Bunny get so much controversy, because what it offers is so different and ?out there.? How many films get some people raving of their brilliance at the same time as others proclaiming them to be the biggest waste that a talent could ever think up? That is one of the beauties of independent cinema, and experimental film.
The other major controversy surrounding The Brown Bunny ? besides the fact that not much happens for 90 minutes ? is the infamous sexual material. Let me say that when I heard about this film recently, I imagined graphic sex scenes and expected that factor to be extremely offensive. And especially since all I knew was that it was about some guy who drove around on an endless highway, and who sounded like he just had sex with lots of women, how can you not join in to the discussion and go, ?I?m sorry, what?s this again??
Quite possibly the biggest misconception about The Brown Bunny is that it has extensive sexual content. There?s only one scene of sexual material, and it?s at the end; and let me tell you, it really isn?t what people might be expecting. I?m not a pervert, but given all of this controversy it is kind of difficult not to at least be curious as to the truth (it?s kind of like not seeing Gigli eventually ? it just has to be done). The sexual content involves an oral sex moment (and a brief moment of nudity), and you see the action very clearly (so yes, to some people, this might be offensive), but the material also isn?t just applied for the hell of it.
The sexual element to this film is slight in the same way that it was slight in Midnight Cowboy. With that 1969 classic, no such material had ever been exposed to the moviegoing public, and so merely implying the sexual content within that story was what garnered an NC-17 rating. There was barely any nudity in that film and yet the way the controversy erupted, the MPAA made it seem like it was the most offensive film to ever get released. Granted, times were very different back then, but to call The Brown Bunny a sexual experience is a similarly misguided statement.
The Brown Bunny bares another relevance to Midnight Cowboy in its theme. This is a story about a lonely guy who drives across the country on his own, and occasionally tries to spark relationships in the process, but has emotional problems that restrict such a connection. The controversy surrounding this part is whether you give a damn, and Vincent Gallo?s tone in the direction can either make you care about the issues in the subtext, or make you ask for the door.
The Brown Bunny could?ve been another Midnight Cowboy (B+) had the storytelling been approached a bit differently. Midnight Cowboy didn?t hint at such an ego behind the lens, and the story was about finding the American dream that a male prostitute thought existed. The story was also about loneliness and the unusual friendships that can form between different personalities. Brown Bunny has believable performances a la Midnight Cowboy, but Gallo?s script keeps it from being really memorable; his pieces add up, but I would?ve preferred more to happen throughout the premise.
This is a film only recommended to filmgoers who have extreme patience, and I want to stress heavy emphasis on ?extreme? ? there are going to be people even in that group who hate this film to the core. There are going to be others who dig it, but there aren?t going to be many. But even when a film like this comes along and I have a hardcore disliking to it, I find it hard not to at least admire the courage within the talent; far too many movies every year are average in their offerings, and films like Brown Bunny break that pattern.
Lee's Grade: B
Ranked #14 of 120 between Open Water (#13) and Kinsey (#15) for 2004 movies.
Ranked #14 of 120 between Open Water (#13) and Kinsey (#15) for 2004 movies.
Lee's Overall Grading: 3025 graded movies
| A | 0.4% | |
| B | 30.0% | |
| C | 61.7% | |
| D | 8.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
