Personally, I don't mind the guy who is looking straight into the camera. To my mind, this would have been a perfect portrait picture of just someone, if it wasn't for the two other persons in the background, who are in a kind of interaction that I don't understand. And their very funny interaction (the one sitting there like a beggar, the other in a stooping position, carrying that bottle) distracts me a great deal. Without them, I'd be very fond of the angle, frame and lightning.
I really like this one. To me, the man on the steps looks left out. The other two are having a conversation and he looks alone. I think it would have been good with just the man too, but the others give some context to what he might be feeling.