Paul King, known best for his work as the director of The Mighty Boosh, wrote and directed his first feature film, Bunny and the Bull, with a less comical motif than audiences might have expected from him. King, renowned for his biting and perspicacious sense of humor, wields it in a darker manner to recount the story of two friends who embark upon a train/road trip throughout Europe that ultimately ends in tragedy.
Fire and Ice
Most friendships exhibit a foil between two people who serve as one another's counterpart. This yin and yang sort of representation is especially apparent with Stephen Turnbull (Edward Hogg) and Bunny (Simon Farnaby). Their names alone tell a tale of numerous divergences. For one, Stephen's last name, with the word "bull" present in it, indicates his stubborn and unmalleable will and accounts for one of the reasons the film was given its title. Bunny, on the other hand, has no last name to speak of--a mirror of his simple, responsibility-free life.
Trapped Inside
Although Stephen is a naturally antisocial person, his misanthropy takes a new shape in the form of agoraphobia when we are first introduced to him. His world is limited to the confines of his house, which he has set up to suit every facet of his needs, right down to the year supply of frozen lunches and dinners he has stored up. His plans to stay inside for the foreseeable future, however, are thwarted when rodents get a hold of his food.
Try as he might, Stephen cannot bring himself to go outside to find sustenance. Instead he orders "the vegetarian option" from a seafood chain called Captain Crab. When the food arrives, he stares at it uncomfortably, as though it evokes some sort of uncomfortable memory, which, in fact, it does.
A House Full of Memories and Props
One of the comparisons Bunny and the Bull drew when it was first released was to the surrealistic style of Michel Gondry. As Stephen reminisces about a road trip that altered the course of his life, he uses household props, such as cardboard boxes, a wall clock, and lamps, to inhabit the world of the past. It all begins, as it were, at Captain Crab, where Stephen, bolstered by Bunny, is finally ready to tell his friend Melanie that he is in love with her--after three years of being in the "friend zone."
After he is rejected by Melanie, Bunny insists that the two of them take a trip throughout Europe together to take his mind off of everything. In order to get money to make this journey, Bunny assures Stephen that there's a horse named Atlantis Rising that's a surefire bet. To convince Stephen of this, he assures him that he got the tip from one of the girls that works at the stable. When Bunny wins by sheer luck, Stephen gets him to admit that there is no stable girl and that his good fortune was mere happenstance. Bunny's disregard for Stephen in this instance is marginal in comparison to his behavior on the trip.
Meeting Eloisa
After a series of mind-numbingly boring (at least to Bunny) museum visits, Bunny finally convinces Stephen to shake things up a bit more--which translates into pointing at a map and randomly selecting a place to eat. That place turns out to be Captain Crab, a chain restaurant that Stephen just can't seem to escape.
The only upside to this culinary jaunt is that Stephen finally meets a woman he is actually attracted to: Their server, Eloisa (Verónica Echegui). The only problem is, Eloisa is about to quit her job and hitchhike a ride back to Spain. Unwilling to let Stephen pass up this opportunity, Bunny uses his penchant for gambling to challenge an employee at Captain Crab to an eating contest wherein the prize for winning is a car.
Once Bunny wins the car, he and Stephen pretend to just stumble upon Eloisa on the side of the road and offer her a ride. With Eloisa added to the dynamic, the tensions between Bunny and Stephen intensify tenfold.
Richard Ayoade, Noel Fielding, and Julian Barratt
A project from Paul King would not be the same without appearances from his most loyal roster of actors, all three of whom King collaborated with on The Mighty Boosh. Ayoade, Fielding, and Barratt give memorable performances in Bunny and the Bull as well. Ayoade plays a mundane curator at a museum specializing in the history of shoes; Barratt plays a bestial homeless man named Atilla, who insists on forcing Stephen and Bunny to drink milk squeezed from his pack of dogs; Fielding plays Javier, Eloisa's brother and a would-be toreador.
Stephen's Reconciliation with the Outside World
When we finally see the outcome of Stephen and Bunny's trip--the death of Bunny in the wake of a bull fight--it finally becomes clear why he so unabashedly fears engaging with the rest of the world. The trauma of losing his best friend has severed his ability to trust in anything positive resulting from emotional involvement.
In spite of this, Bunny, from beyond the grave, coerces Stephen into taking a chance again by leaving the house and getting back in touch with Eloisa. And that, to be sure, is Bunny's greatest contribution to the boundless friendship he has with Stephen.
Genna Rivieccio - Genna Rivieccio's brain was designed specifically to retain an amalgam of pop culture images, references, and sound bites.
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