The Brown Bunny (2003, NR)

Written by, directed by and starring Vincent Gallo, this independent art-house movie is pretty much a one-man show.  I think I counted 6 faces that appreared on screen by the end of the film.  The vast majority of the minutes of screen time were used to show you how empty and lonely the main character's life is.  In the scenes when he does interact with another human being, it's sometimes completely silent and at other times they have a low volume laconic conversation.  there was no ambient music and very little ambient sound by the way, so this is a very quiet movie.  While I guess it's good that they showed it rather than just telling us in a voiceover, I have to say he could have accomplished this in a way shorter amount of time.  Pretty much the whole plot of the film (minus the point that he's lonely and misses his lady) takes place in the final scene.  This scene was still pretty quiet but at least it told some story.

I had heard that this film had some extreme and graphic content and I thought, "gee, that sounds interesting... I like movies that are different."  Well, it was different.  To ask Gallo's character's forgiveness for something in their past, she goes down on him... and here's where it's graphic.  Watching it, I was like, "That's not special effects.  That's not a prosthetic, it's not CG.  It's not a clever camera angle.  That's a penis.  In a mouth.  Of an established actress." Chloe Sevigny (Boys Don't Cry, Party Monster) plays the lady-interest in the film.  There was some pretending involved in this shot: I'm pretty sure Gallo didn't actually finish in Sevigny's mouth, but it still took commitment on her part to fill this role.  I have to tip my hat to her for going all-out in pursuit of her art, but I say "shame on you" to Gallo.  He was the sole creator of this almost-scriptless movie.  It's almost like he woke up one morning and decided he wanted the inside of Sevigny's mouth and wanted to put it on the big screen.  Apparently her talent agents dropped her from their services after the film was released.  Apart from that, I did like the story that takes place and the result of their conversation.  I think this could have made a really good short film (if they cut the first hour+).

If you like the film for its artistic portrayal and want to experience the main character's hollow life, then by all means you should watch the whole thing and enjoy it.  If you just want to be told a story (like I do), you should jump to the final chapter.  If you just want to see the sex scene (dude, you're already on the internet: that sort of content is everywhere.  But if you really need to see it with Sevigny), still jump to near the end.