Adrian Lyne composes a film that begins in a subtle fashion and ends in bloodshed. The opening shot of Manhattan is well-conceived as it finishes on the window outside the Gallagher home. We know from Lyne's composition that we are peering into the home of just one family amongst millions in this story. We can understand too, that by not initially seeing the faces of the people that this story could belong to anyone.
As the plot moves along, Lyne uses a light touch with great effectiveness in building the flirtation into an affair with Dan and Alex. He shows how allowing ones boundaries to be crossed by simply shuffling them off as rules of society that are foolish, i.e. having dinner with someone isn't wrong. We see how these little flirtations lead to death, literally in this film.
Lyne also creates the sense that the newness of Dan and Alex's relationship is what excites them most. We watch as they run through the park with the dog, and listen to Madame Butterfly and reveal they share the same fervor for it as it is blasted to full volume as Alex makes him her "specialty" spaghetti. The director is revealing how lust is what is pulling these two together, not the deeper things of life. This inevitably leads to a similar dramatic conclusion as would occur when lighting the wick upon a stick of dynamite.
The film goes from a family drama to a psychological thriller very quickly and Lyne keeps the anxious feeling heightened throughout. This creates a drama inside the audience as they wait for what is to happen next, even when it seems it is all in plain sight.
