They appeared to be an ideal family with a charmed life.
The death of Conrad's brother has taken its toll on him. This is evident through him trying to commit suicide. Calvin tries to carry on as if nothing ever happened, suppressing his emotions. Beth withdraws all support and meaningful communication from Conrad as if silently holding him responsible for Buck's death. Her relationship is strained with Calvin because she sees him as supporting Conrad's irrational behavior.
As the movie progresses we see Conrad's need for a close relationship with someone. He begins therapy with Dr. Berger in spite of his negative feelings for psychiatrists. Dr. Berger helps Conrad to express his feelings and encourages him to do what he wants instead of what people expect him to do. Dr. Berger is spontaneous which is to Conrad's benefit. They have both established a solid foundation for a client-therapist relationship, which is an important part of therapy. Eventually, through his therapy sessions, Conrad comes to understand that his failure in the relationship with his mother is due more to her weakness, than anything for which he is responsible and he comes to accept her limitations. Everything seems to be going well, his relationship with his girlfriend, Jeanine and his relationship with his dad, until he tries to call his friend Karen whom he kept in touch with from the hospital, only to find out that she had committed suicide. This seems to bring him back to the way he was and makes him think about Buck again, but this time he has someone to turn to. He .
calls Dr. Berger in the middle of the night and asks him for his help. In this conversation with Dr. Berger Conrad finally realizes that besides blaming himself, he is also mad at Buck for not holding on. This is the most crucial scene in the movie because it shows how important it is to have a solid client-therapist relationship. Who knows what Conrad might have done without Dr.
