I actually enjoyed this film. It's a little ponderous and possibly a bit formulaic and cliche in some of the ways it portrayed the squalidness of a crumby downtown existence. I imagine the ending is what primarily turned off most viewers. Any time the protagonist is righteous yet punished, without the escape of a comic relief, audiences seem to immediately condemn the film. This is nihilism in it's darkest form. Although I do not share the same outlook on life, I understand it's relevance.