I thought "Ryan Phillippe"'s character typifies all who try to claim that they are totally noble/sin-less/non villain/non racist?! ... so the film/director tries to point out: we shall wait and see ... until you are thrown into the situation, DO NOT BE TOO SURE ... 

I thought "Matt Dillon"'s character is rather interesting ... 
(i) people who like the film may claim -- he is a portrayal of a real human being, always torn between good and evil ... there are times when he does good, there are times when he does wrong 
(ii) people who dislike the film may claim -- is the film/director trying to justify bad deeds by claiming all of us have our pressure and whenever we falter, that is because some things have happened in our life (i.e., the pressure is too great)