Like Mildred Pierce and other noir melodramas, The Reckless Moment taps into the disenchantment lurking beneath the surface of the traditional American family. Director Max Ophuls does this by centering the film's blackmail plot on the relationship between Lucia Harper and Donnelly the blackmailer. Donnelly's appearance represents the intrusion of the outside world, with all its danger and uncertainty, into Lucia's sheltered life, and forces her into a kind of double existence. Ophuls, known for his deep-focus compositions and flowing camera movements, often emphasizes her dilemma visually. In one memorable scene, Lucia negotiates with Donnelly while the family is seen through a window in the background, sitting down to dinner, unaware of her troubles. The film's most remarkable moments occur while Donnelly accompanies her on her travels in search of money. The more time they spend together, the closer they become. (He even worries about her smoking, and at one point buys her a cigarette holder to stem her nicotine intake.) There is certainly an element of attraction in Donnelly's growing sympathy, but Ophuls also makes clear that his concern arises from pity for this repressed, increasingly neurotic housewife who is nearly helpless without her husband around to protect her. Ophuls' films are often centered on female characters who either suffer at the hands of men or challenge traditional female roles. In The Reckless Moment, he turns what could have been a standard suspense yarn into a proto-feminist critique of the postwar American social code.