I always really liked and empathized with Thornton for some reason .... his situation just seemed like such a terrible place to be, and his redemption at the end is really quite beautiful.
Can't really say I'm surprised, his career has always had a greater percentage of watching movies, collecting 35mm prints, doing film festivals at the Alamo Drafthouse, and listening to records, than actually directing movies. I never saw him as a Fukasaku type who seemed to be in charge of a movie set in order to exist.