I'm just trying to figure out exactly why that part didn't sit well with me...why it felt like a mistep, even though it makes sense in the context you provided, and in a few other contexts as well.

Perhaps it's just because the film is hard to pin down. Is it a black comedy, or is it a tragedy? Are we supposed to feel revulsion, or distance? There's a lot of gray (rimshot!), which of course can be a good thing, but for some reason, it's difficult for me to reconcile in this picture.