This movie gives Requiem for a Dream a strong challenge for the Most Depressing Film championship. Micky Rourke looked like life had chewed him up and spit him out. This film (and a few other contemporary works) seems to me to be a new take on tragedy. It’s not Shakespearean — at no point do you feel like the characters are making epic mistakes — life just sucks from the start to the finish and the world relentlessly beats the crap out of some poor downtrodden bastards until you can barely stand to watch it any longer and then the movie just ends.