The Brown Bunny

Written, directed, edited, produced by, and starring Gallo, The Brown Bunny is a landmark of narcissistic self-loathing. Crossing the country for a reunion with lost love Sevigny, Gallo’s damaged brooder loves and leaves a succession of needy women (including a severely bedraggled Cheryl Tiegs). The serial misogyny of his masochistic road trip is countered by the extraordinary beauty of the grainy images and Gallo’s deep sadness, underscored by a soundtrack that goes heavy on the Gordon Lightfoot (oddly, the fragile soft rock fits Gallo like a vintage polyester shirt). The controversy over Bunny‘s conclusion turns out to be overblown; its frank sexuality comes as a shock after the movie’s melancholic moodiness, but it’s the natural climax to Gallo’s onanistic odyssey. EXTRAS Nothing but two trailers: A haunting split-screen promo pairs open-road footage with the film’s final twist, while another annotates a Gallo close-up with an ”ADULTS ONLY” come-on and EW’s pessimistic prediction ”No one in America will ever see one frame of this film.”