Some rules are too ingrained to question why they’ve been there all along. The question often arises in the case of comedies, where the cinematography and lighting directly identify them and rarely let them stray into more dramatic genres once the atmosphere has been established. But every now and then, some filmmakers try to bridge the gap between two genres. With Greedy People, Potsy Ponciroli mixes the zany humor of the Coen Brothers with a violent crime drama.

Based on the first day on the job of police officer Will (Himesh Patel) and his zany partner Terry (Joseph Gordon Levitt) in the quiet town of Providence. When Will accidentally kills the richest woman in Providence and discovers a million dollars, the professionalism of both men goes out the window, Greedy People has all the ingredients to be a fun, light-hearted comedy. In its first half-hour, Potsy Ponciroli is unabashedly darkly humorous. Terry cultivates an abysmal attitude in his instability and repartee, while Will desperately tries to keep his lie straight. With its dialogue and good timing, Greedy People hits the nail on the head more than once.

But while more and more people are benefiting from Bobette’s death, Potsy Ponciroli is moving his film into a much more serious vein. The changes take place first in his cinematography, with high key lights replaced by high contrast lighting in the shadows. Joseph Gordon Levitt then showcases his acting talents, moving his character’s instability into more menacing and dangerous territory.

With this narrative evolution, Greedy People adopts a slow-burn style where events, becoming increasingly uncontrollable, lead to more catastrophic consequences. In this sense, some might rightly consider the film misleading or deceiving in being defined as a comedy, as the narrative darkness quickly takes over. The shift in genre isn’t necessarily helped by a lack of finesse in the dialogue and structuring of events, which sometimes feel too convenient.

Greedy People has a good chance of being divisive, unable to confine itself to a single genre. Yet that’s what might make it so appealing to others. Despite some difficulties in the execution of its dialogue and continuity, Potsy Ponciroli manages to come up with something surprising with such ordinary plot elements.