 What is the author's strongest critique of Barker's directorial style?
The movie tracks four aging New Yorkers--two men, two women--through their lonely dating rituals, in the process depicting a universe of lusty, coupled-up haves and downcast, excluded have-nots, all viewed Rear Window -style through rectangular openings in the massive apartment houses in which they reside. Calling his own film "an exercise in mendacity," Barker goes on, "I'm quite happy to tell lies about my characters and even collude with their self-delusions if it enables me to communicate larger dramatic truths." Michael turns out to be the film's most sympathetic subject--by a wide margin.
 The drafted nature of Barker's characters' speech is inconsistent with his claims of the film being categorized as a documentary
 The drafted nature of Barker's characters' speech is inconsistent with his claims of the film being categorized as a documentary  The film does not include enough monologues from each of the four characters to be considered a documentary, and instead relies predominantly on voice-over narration  Barker attempts to capitalize on western society's simultaneous intrigue and revulsion with vile characters who live at the margins  Barker's juxtaposition of the sympathetic with the distasteful does not match up with the actual lived realities of the four main characters featured in the film