Okay, who snuck "American Me" into the Rom-Com Club?!

So, I'm scrolling through my streaming service the other night, looking for my next fix of adorable meet-cutes and happily ever afters (you know, the usual laurenfilms type of night), and I accidentally stumbled upon..."American Me" (1992). I swear, my queue needs a serious intervention. I was expecting Julia Roberts, not...Edward James Olmos running a prison gang. Talk about a tonal shift! Okay, so it's definitely not a rom-com, but honestly? I was kinda hooked. It's a brutal, unflinching look at gang life and the cycle of violence. I mean, Olmos is intense, and I actually found myself feeling sympathy for Santana, the main character, which is weird considering...well, everything he does. Did anyone else feel like the scene where he confronts his mom about his...conception was like, a deeply unsettling but pivotal moment? Like, you see where so much of his anger comes from, but yikes. It's so far removed from my usual viewing habits, but I think it's good to occasionally step outside your comfort zone, right? It made me think about some really heavy stuff, and even though it's not a 'feel-good' movie AT ALL, it was definitely...powerful. It's also an interesting contrast to movies like 'Mi Familia' where you see the same community but from a totally different perspective. So, anyone else seen this? What did you all think? Am I the only one who accidentally fell into this very dark rabbit hole thinking they were gonna watch a wedding movie? lol. Also, random thought: the director is "Unknown"? Is that like a pseudonym or something? That's so weird. I just noticed that! I'm going down a Wikipedia rabbit hole later figuring that out.