In reply to Offwidth:
I disagree. What were they aiming for? Big box office? No. Awards? No.
It's downbeat, long, doesn't offer anything we haven't seen before, has more than enough drugs and violence to make it an 18-certificate, and the stars (aside from Cheadle) have long since seen their glory days.
It's not what a studio would ever call a "flagpole" movie.
But I liked it a lot, BECAUSE of all of the above.
I call it a "high-end B-movie"
I just don't think "B-movie" should mean only "80 minute cheapie with cardboard sets" any more, especially because double feature presentations are a thing of the distant past.