Cassavetes' "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie": Raw, but Did It Work?

Okay, so I finally got around to watching John Cassavetes' "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" (1976). Whew. What a ride. I know Cassavetes is like, a big deal and all, and I appreciate the indie filmmaking spirit, but I'm still trying to figure out how I really feel about it, you know? The whole vibe is so gritty and unpolished, it almost feels like you're eavesdropping on a real life unfolding, which I guess is the point. Ben Gazzara as Cosmo Vittelli is amazing, though. He so convincingly portrays the owner of a sleazy club who has a weakness for his dancers. He's got this protectiveness about them, like they're his family. The plot, well, it's messy. Cosmo gets into gambling debt and ends up having to do something really, REALLY messed up to pay it off. The whole 'killing of the Chinese bookie' part feels kinda... anticlimactic? It's shot in a way that's so low-key and almost amateurish that at first I didn't even believe that was the plan. It might be a little bit too gritty, like, not very cinematic. The scene that really stuck with me was when Cosmo gets shot and he's stumbling around afterward. Gazzara's performance is so raw and vulnerable. You can practically smell the cheap perfume and stale cigarette smoke of The Crazy Horse West. I read some stuff online before diving in, and a lot of people praised its realism and improvisational style. And I do appreciate that it feels incredibly authentic and breaks away from typical Hollywood fare. But I gotta admit, at times it felt almost too real, like I was watching someone's home movie that got way out of hand. Still, it's definitely a film that stays with you, even if you're not entirely sure why. Anyone else seen it? What were your thoughts? Am I missing something crucial here? Drop your feelings below!