"The Brown Bunny" hops into road-movie monotony

The longest 92 minutes I've spent in a cinema this year belong to "The Brown Bunny," Vincent Gallo's self-indulgent and seemingly endless road movie. By my rough estimate, it's essentially two-thirds driving, one-sixth monotone discussion between lost souls and one-sixth oral sex. Clearly the advance buzz has to do with all that driving, right?

Gallo plays Bud, a scruffy loner driving across the country in an attempt to forget his girlfriend, Daisy (Chloë Sevigny). He drives, he fills up his car with gas, he eats, he urinates, he sleeps in motels, and he drives some more. Occasionally he meets a sad-eyed young woman with a flower name (Violet, Lilly, Rose) for a brief encounter, and then he drives some more.

Movie review Showtimes and trailer * "The Brown Bunny," with Vincent Gallo, Chloë Sevigny, Cheryl Tiegs, Elizabeth Blake, Anna Vareschi, Mary Morasky. Written and directed by Gallo. 92 minutes. Not rated; no one under 18 admitted (contains a graphic scene of sexuality). Varsity.

Moments in "The Brown Bunny" hint at a better film, and a not-untalented filmmaker lurking somewhere within. There's an occasional dreamy poetry to the road scenes, as the back roads and highways of America spin past Bud's half-closed eyes. And the film's last two minutes reveal a storyline rather more complex and interesting than what we thought we were seeing.

At 20 minutes, "The Brown Bunny" might be a lovely, '70s-flavored short. But at its current length, the film often feels as if someone set up a camera and then wandered off, forgetting about it.

And as for the film's notorious, ahem, climactic scene between Gallo and Sevigny — well, it brings self-indulgence (and self-promotion) to a whole new level. Next time Gallo should content himself with merely baring his soul.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com