So basically it tells us James' story, a boy that came from a wealthy family and were pressured by his mom to study harder and harder, as he pretend to be exactly what she wanted he was, in reality, sinking and drugs and starting to engage in prostitution.
In this one, we can see how James turns out, probably in a couple of years of difference. As someone who watched Bittersweet Chocolate, I knew not to expect a clear movie.
The actors are not bad, not bad at all. BTW cheers to the little boy in chains he made an amazing job performing torture and fear is not easy.
The only thing I didn't like tho was how explicit was the sex scenes, that weird-looking childish ladyboy, whose only scream time was to be fingered, really shocked me off. But clearly, the whole intention of this movie is to be shocking.
So no, I don't think this movie is that bad for people used to cult cinema but do have A LOT of flaws.