The Brown Bunny (2003) Experimental Film Soleil

An Experimental Film, a Drama, a Road Picture, a Porn flick, a depressing Film Soleil.

It would make a good double bill with Siesta (1987) They sort of in a way cover the same territory. Written, directed and just about everything else is credited to Vincent Gallo.

The film stars Vincent Gallo as Bud Clay, Chloë Sevigny as Daisy, Cheryl Tiegs as Lilly, Elizabeth Blake as Rose, Anna Vareschi as Violet and Mary Morasky as Mrs. Lemon.

The Brown Bunny is open for interpretation, the story is a rough sketch, allowing your subjective self to fill in the blanks.

Vinny is a gearhead. Vinny races Motorcycles. He could be  a Grand Prix racer, they are on a track. The race is done. He lost. He's in New Hampshire.

The next race is in California. He loads the bike into the back of his van and points it West. Vinny had a girlfriend named Daisy. He's haunted by her memory, he's obsessed with the past. He's alienated from the world.

Violet  (Anna Vareschi)

Bud Clay (Vincent Gallo)

At a gas station near the track he fills the tank and picks up Violet. He talks her into going on his cross country trip. He takes her to her house to pack her things. Vinny gets second thoughts and splits

Vinny next stops at his home town. He visits the home of Daisy's parents. Daisy was his hometown sweetheart. Her father is senile, the mother doesn't remember him. The "brown bunny," Daisy's pet is in a cage.

Vinny splits again heading ever westward. At a highway rest-stop he meets Lilly. Lilly is wound a bit too tight she's having a crying jag, Bud comforts, hugs, and gives her a kiss. Bud starts to cry also. He splits again.

Lilly (Cheryl Tiegs) 

Vinny's next stop is Bonneville Salt Flats. A Dali landscape.  Its a good place for Vinny to hop on his bike and drive off into oblivion.

Vinny is next in Vegas. He drives his van around. He sees prostitutes working corners. He circles the block. He picks one. Her name is Rose. Vinny offers to by her lunch. She tells him it's gonna cost him regular rates. She probably thinks some guys get off on the weirdest things.

Rose (Elizabeth Blake)

Vinny drives into Los Angeles. He drops his motorcycle off to get tuned. He drives over to Daisy's house. He knocks on the door the place looks abandoned. He writes her a note and leaves it on the frame of the door. He sits in his van thinking about the good times with Daisy. He checks into a hotel.

Daisy show up at his hotel room, she read his note. Daisy acts nervous. Daisy looks stoned. Apparently not stoned enough. Daisy goes into the bathroom two times to take hits off her crack pipe. Bud waits sitting on his bed. Daisy comes back into the bedroom. She suggests to Vinny that they go out for a drink. Vinny tells her that because of what happened last time he drank that he doesn't drink anymore now.

Daisy (Chloë Sevigny)

smokin' crack

They have an argument about her kissing other men. Vinny doesn't like her to do it. Vinny undresses Daisy. Daisy gives him a blowjob to calm him down.

They are laying in bed. They talk. Bud asks Daisy how she could have been involved with those two guys at the party. Daisy explains that she was just being friendly and wanted to smoke a joint with them. Bud becomes upset again because Daisy was pregnant at the time and lost the baby.

Through apparent flashback scenes we see that Daisy was very fucked up at the party and was getting gang banged simultaneously by two guys, one orally one vaginally.

We see Vinny watching the whole scene from a doorway. Apparently too drunk to give a fuck. He turns and walks away. Daisy asks why he didn't stop them. He tells her he didn't know what to do so he left the party.

He comes back and there is an ambulance in front of the house. Daisy explains that she is dead. She passed out during the gang bang and choked on her own vomit.

Bud awakens on the hotel bed the next morning. Was it all a dream? Was Daisy a ghost?

Noirsville

Rodger Ebert saw an initial cut of the film at Cannes. It was twenty minutes or so longer that this version. He panned it. He "thought it was the worst film in the history of the festival." After it's re-editing Ebert has this to say:

The Cannes version was a bad film, but now Gallo's editing has set free the good film inside. "The Brown Bunny" is still not a complete success -- it is odd and off-putting when it doesn't want to be -- but as a study of loneliness and need, it evokes a tender sadness. I will always be grateful I saw the movie at Cannes; you can't understand where Gallo has arrived unless you know where he started. (Roger Ebert)

Screen caps are from an online streamer. It's worth a watch at least once. 5.5-6/10