Bryan Fuller has enjoyed decades of work as a television showrunner. The mastermind behind Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me, and Hannibal, Fuller excels at building idiosyncratic worlds, often ones replete with plenty of visual dazzle and generous helpings of mordant humor. Incredibly, he’s never contributed to a feature film, but that all changes with Dust Bunny, his debut as a writer/director. Taken as a Fuller project, it feels comfortably of a piece with the rest of his work, with the director crafting a stunning confection that plays to his strengths as an artist. The screenplay could certainly use another pass to smooth out some issues, but as far as first features go, Dust Bunny is an overall delightful effort from a typically innovative creator.
Eight-year old Aurora (Sophie Sloan) is a girl with a problem. She lives with her parents in a seemingly normal apartment building, but a new beast has taken up residence under her bed, in the form of a carnivorous dust bunny that threatens to consume anyone who dares walk on her floor. Her parents pay her no mind, certain, of course, that the creature is a made-up fantasy. But after they fail to heed her warnings, Aurora suddenly finds herself alone and in a precarious situation. Catching her attention is Intriguing Neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen), whom she witnesses slay a Chinese Dragon while out for a night on the town. Convinced he’s a killer of monsters, Aurora hires Intriguing Neighbor to eliminate the dust bunny, lest it eat her next. Intriguing Neighbor remains dubious of Aurora’s claim, but the defiant young girl stands her ground. “You have a wild imagination,” he claims. “I have two eyes,” she retorts. Despite some initial wariness, Intriguing Neighbor bonds with the lonely girl, all while moonlighting as a contract killer for Laverne (Sigourney Weaver), his handler. Meanwhile, a social worker begins sniffing out Aurora’s curious circumstances, and other contract killers get involved in hers and Intriguing Neighbor’s lives as well, which only complicates matters with the dust bunny further.
Dust Bunny could perhaps be best summed up as a mix of Leon: The Professional — though with an infinitely less troublesome central dynamic — and Amélie. Fuller wastes no time laying out his visually inventive world, devoting an extended, wordless sequence to Aurora witnessing one of Intriguing Neighbor’s missions as he strolls through Chinatown before encountering another gang of killers, capably handling them with acrobatics and hidden weaponry. It’s not long after that Aurora introduces herself to the assassin, using money stolen from a church to pay for his services. (In a purely Fuller-esque touch, the Sunday service is delivered as a 1970s musical number). Of course, nobody really believes that the dust bunny exists, but something is clearly rotten in Aurora’s world, particularly when more assassins arrive to eliminate her, turning Intriguing Neighbor into an unwitting savior (and sitter). There’s also the presence of the Conspicuously Inconspicuous Man (David Dastmalchian), and even a visit from social services (Sheila Atim), which throws a wrench into Aurora’s world and forces her and Intriguing Neighbor to improvise around the absence of her parents.
More than anything, Dust Bunny is a beautifully decorated film, as Fuller works wonders with set design and costuming; a particular highlight involves a hitman who disguises himself against the wallpaper of an apartment. There are also a number of extended fight scenes and bloody shootouts, peppering plenty of R-rated violence into this dark fairy tale world. The performances are similarly terrific, with Sloan a genuine find as Aurora, enjoying a nice repartee with Mikkelsen, who is excellent as the guardian angel with a penchant for killing. What isn’t completely there is a coherent story, offering viewers only minimal substance and a slippery throughline to hang onto as Fuller characteristically doles out his stylistic delights. The nature and lore of the dust bunny in particular is never satisfyingly explored in full, largely leaving its existence to the realm of interpretation, and the film’s conclusion also doesn’t completely connect as intended. But while those warts plague Dust Bunny and prevent a full-throated recommendation, Fuller nonetheless concocts enough playfulness and aesthetic pomp along the way to leave such narrative shortcomings feeling mostly immaterial.
DIRECTOR: Bryan Fuller; CAST: Mads Mikkelsen, Sophie Sloan, David Dastmalchian, Sigourney Weaver; DISTRIBUTOR: Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate; IN THEATERS: December 12; RUNTIME: 1 hr. 46 min.
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