- Ensemble Dark Horse: Mr. USA, a Ukrainian player who takes on the persona of a stereotypical obnoxious American and who chants out "USA! USA!" repeatedly whenever he's onscreen, is much-beloved for being an eccentric Large Ham who still doesn't feel out of place with the otherwise downbeat and muted atmosphere of the film, as well as for providing some welcome bits of levity here and there.
- Questionable Casting: Tiffany Haddish's casting raised eyebrows the moment it was announced. Haddish is a primarily comedic actress who is well-known for playing boisterous, larger-than-life characters—in other words, essentially the exact opposite of an actor one would expect to find in a Paul Schrader filmnote —and had never really taken on a dramatic role before, meaning that many people had reservations about her role, to the point where Schrader had to defend his decision to cast her. Once the actual film was released, opinions were polarized: there were some who found that she had genuine acting range and pulled her role off well, others who thought she tried her best but ultimately lagged behind her much more acclaimed co-stars, and others who outright called her performance one of the worst they'd ever seen.
- The Woobie: Cirk, a deeply troubled young man who's estranged from his mother and wants revenge against the man who killed his father. After tracking down William, he finds genuine companionship in him and La Linda, and slowly begins to take steps towards healing. Even though it finally looks like he'll put his desire for vengeance behind and move on with his life, he ultimately can't let go of his urges and gets killed for it.
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