Bunny and the Bull

 

Bunny and the Bull is the authorial debut of Paul King, best known for directing The Mighty Boosh and Darkplace - inevitable but deceptive touchstones. Stephen (Edward Hogg) pieces together the farcical holiday that led to his despondency, agoraphobia and paranoid schizophrenia. Retracing his steps through eclectic miniature worlds a troubled relationship emerges with his buddy, the eponymous Bunny (Simon Farnaby). As we ramble through Stephen's psychological furniture, ingenious and charming sets and designs fashion the film into an interesting aesthetic object. But its sense of humour is often off the mark, descending generally into idle and even awkward banter. As comedy it succeeds most when inducing revulsion (for example, at Julian Barratt's dog-milking hobo). As sentimental drama there's an almost complete lack of engagement with the impassive Stephen and an absence of character development. One cannot overcome the sense that King's script falls between stools, and so fails to satisfy high expectations. A dream of visual design whose tentative script sells itself short.