This movie came out almost 30 years ago- in 1993- and garnered countless nominations and awards. It is one of those movies that showcase a year in the life of a person or a family with all their hardships but with no real purpose in the end. There is no payoff.  There is thankfully no agenda, but this maybe due to it having been made so long ago.  Depp and DiCaprio are at the beginning of their A-list acting careers,  but it is reminiscent in content (certainly not in quality) of the sitcom Roseanne. It is 2 hours of brutish people doing brutish things. Those sorts of films never, in the end, make me feel good. 
 
I guess I'd pay for it (I know even though I said what I said) but it was so critically acclaimed and the beginning of both their careers.... maybe just for that reason. I am glad I watched it, since it's considered a movie classic to some extent.