The Most Controversial Film From a Year Full of Controversial Films

So in 2004, the year of The Passion of the Christ and Fahrenheit 9/11, the film that caused the most uproar might very well have been Vincent Gallo's sophomore directorial effort The Brown Bunny (follow that link for an excellent review at AMG by Michael Hastings). I was a big fan of Gallo's Buffalo '66, so I was eager to see this film even before all the controversy started. For those who don't remember, this is the film that features the fine young actress Chloe Sevigny performing a very intimate act on Gallo. Before we get to that scene however, the viewer is treated to seventy-five minutes of the most mind-numbing, sleep inducing series of images I've come across in a really long time. There is nothing to take from the first 5/6 of this film other than Gallo's character is lonely. No filmmaker needs seventy-five minutes to establish lonesomeness. While it is accurate to say that the (in)famous scene is the best part of the movie, it is for reasons greater than the obvious. Gallo has really though out what is going on emotionally in the film, and although it might not be terribly profound, it certainly seems to be heartfelt. So the viewer is left with the the simple fact that Gallo padded a fifteen-minute short into a ninety minute slog. I still think he's a talented filmmaker, but I'm worried that his internal bullshit detector needs serious recalibrating.