moral irony

His films expose the gap between societal morality and human weakness, where characters pursuing 'respectable' goals are undone by their own compromises.

He celebrates moral contradictions in his characters—criminals with hearts of gold, prostitutes with integrity—revealing how society's moral judgments fail to capture human complexity.

Their films consistently show morally earnest or righteous characters whose virtuous acts produce disastrous consequences, while amoral figures often escape unscathed.