It is nearly impossible to avoid the press The Brown Bunny has generated without
feeling curious. Anyone reviewing this movie needs a perspective of Vincent
Gallo's other creations whether it be music, film or art, but if they
haven't witnessed his work firsthand, then they may slant towards the
typical, "He is trying to be shocking," rather than "He has the gift of
courage to risk it all for his art."
Gallo has written, or rather has conceptualized, directed, produced,
filmed, scored and is the star of The Brown Bunny. He portrays
the story's anti-hero, Bud Clay, a motorcycle racer -- the kind that hug
the bike's body, riding close to the road and nearly skinning their knees
at 100 mph. Bud switches vehicles after the race and is not just any driver
on the road going across the country in a van. We're seeing his vulnerability
as he starts his journey. One of the first things we watch unfold in
a tiny gas station store of New Hampshire, after he loaded the bike into
the van himself, is him pleading for a young girl to go to California with
him.
The film soon unfolds as a monologue and there is little spoken
dialogue and when words are spoken we have a little more insight each
time. We hear in Bud's voice some longing--is it for solace, or will
he just fill the void? We're not sure at first. Can the women who meet
Bud trust him? Violet is the first woman we see him try to relate to. Violet,
portrayed by a girl Gallo found working at a gas station, she is one of
several non-actors who appear in this story. She is sweet, natural and perfect
in this scene with him.
Later Bud is driving alone and searching, perhaps lost or just
slowly driving on small streets. We watch his face and he is invited into
a home by people we learn to be Daisy's elderly parents. Studying the
interior of the house, they live humble, simple lives with the companionship
of a bunny caged by the window. Bud is transfixed by the bunny, stays drawn
to it for a few beats. It's perhaps a connection and we learn it was Daisy's,
but where is Daisy? They don't know. The lighting is gloomy and the energy
subdued yet focused on trying to justify Bud's relationship with the
family and Daisy and is it relevant to his return home to California?
When Bud's back on the road, he encounters some inclement weather
but pushes on through the dark muck with a visibility of a liquefying
windshield. This same windshield encompasses the length, width and depth
of the screen, in fact, we're looking either through it, straight at
the road, or at Bud's profile for a good part of most scenes. As a viewer
we're taken with his intensity because it is out of the norm or the lighter
side of a scene is covered by a nostalgic lyric by Gordon Lightfoot. Some
shots linger on a moment with a partial study of a blank expression or Bud's
sleep posture leaves an entire side of the bed empty which accentuates the
stark silence. Bud exits the van and you're still sitting in it able to
see him until he's out of frame and suddenly it is off-center. He abandoned
you for a moment. It's long enough to notice he's gone and no one else is
around.
When Bud is not in the van driving he is looking at animals at
a pet store even inquiring about the life span of a particular bunny.
Why is it important to Bud? Does that length of time mean something to
him? Bud eats alone but watches people, observing their interactions.
When he and Lily connect (she's played by former super-model Cheryl Tiegs
in her first onscreen performance of her career), she and Bud do not exchange
words, however their gestures are strong between them.
We're always observing Bud over the shoulder from his right side
or as his passenger with either the profile of their driver or the view
of the road. There's something secretive of not looking straight on in
a close-up, as if you don't have the permission to know more yet. Watching
him rinse his face with water you get a sense of his need to clear his
head of the clouded thoughts somewhat perceived with the film's grainy texture,
muted colors, and bright starkness.
Soon he is driving through Las Vegas with his passenger window
down while wearing a moth-eaten cashmere sweater over a button-down shirt
in probably 80 degree sun. He reacts awkwardly with the approaching
girls in short shorts asking him if he wants a date and he ponders each
of them. They're not the weathered women but the curious and enthusiastic
type that pleases a man.
Driving down a street in Los Angeles and viewing out the driver's
side window all the quaint, well kept homes, then coming upon a rundown
old, dirty, shadowed house sets a tone of absence or vacancy before Bud
even approaches it.
The hotel he checks into is very sparse, sterile and suffocating.
He prepares for Daisy and you meet her. The image of meeting her parents
is still fresh in our thoughts. Chloë Sevigny (Kids, Boys Don't
Cry) portrays Daisy and her vibe of urgency leaves us with some anxiety
when we see her and Bud in such closed quarters. Of course, what we learn
about Bud and Daisy explains to us what this story of returning home after
traveling 3,000 miles with brief interludes of human contact and minimal
sunlit exteriors are relevant to Bud's state of mind. At the end you only
then can begin to digest and break down the story remembering snippets that
suddenly shed light on what's below the surface. Nuances that were once shady
actually become emotionally complex. Bud could very well appear
in another chapter of Gallo's career maybe finding help or moving on
because we see that he is not completely inaccessible.
You could leave the theatre thinking that this film is just not
your kind of film that entertains you, or you could leave saying to
yourself, Bad Lieutenant, Romance, Last Tango in Paris, Betty
Blue, Midnight Cowboy... those were all films with scenes people
found shocking for their time. Years later they have become classics
and have been studied by new students of film. The Brown Bunny
may dodge obstacles to gain the same respect of the classics, indeed,
Vincent is using non-traditional
methods to stay true to his dream. There's hope in sight with the awards
the film has received and the theatrical distribution through Wellspring,
so perhaps others are also willing to ignore what the mainstream dictates
and continue nudging Vincent Gallo further towards Cult Classic status.