One aspect that garnered unanimous praise was Danes' performance as the troubled daughter. Levy wrote, "Danes proves again that she's one of the most naturally gifted actresses of her generation." Maslin described her as "especially expressive in the film's later scenes, demonstrating a rare ability to seem fresh and honest when her material quite clearly is not." Matthews wrote, "Danes is terrific playing an awkward teenager trying to understand her father's problems while feeling the first stirrings of passion in herself." Kempley wrote of Danes, "the gifted actress steals the show."