However, I can point concretely to the way the plot treats the characters. Almost everyone ends up winning in the end. And not only that, but the victories are satisfying. A storyteller who hates his characters typically loves to leave them suffering. But Hess’s characters always seem to transcend their own absurdity.

I would also like to come at the question from another angle–with another question. What if this had been a documentary? There are people like these fictional characters in each of our realities, and that’s one of the reasons so many critics are upset. How can you laugh at someone who you shouldn’t laugh at in real life? Not knowing when to laugh drives people insane. Inevitably, they start to point fingers to vent their discomfort.

I think that Hess adores the strangeness and ridiculousness of his uncomfortably realistic characters. He relishes them, celebrates them, and puts them in narratives that exalt them.

Anyway, that’s the best I can do.

Some people have called this film “Bully Porn;” meaning a complete attack of all the characters, with empathy for any or all being non-existent. Many viewers and film sites have come out and disagreed, as do I. Your thoughts? Does this film care about its characters? How could you tell?