 Adam Sandler of Daily Variety praised the cast , the hysteria and confusion conveyed in Gyllenhaal 's direction , and the " themes of police insensitivity , victims rights and dysfunctional families " in the script . The Washington Post writer Harriet Winslow called Williams ' performance poignant and riveting , and called the fact that it did not overshadow the other actors a " tribute to the quality of this cast " . John J. O 'Connor of The New York Times called the episode " extraordinary " and said " The senselessness of the incident is heartbreakingly captured " . St. Louis Post @-@ Dispatch writer Gail Pennington praised Williams ' " controlled performance " as well as several " terrific scenes " . Among them , she said , were Gee 's explanation of how police use humor as a buffer from the horrors of their jobs , and the scene where detectives simultaneously interrogate two suspects in different rooms , which she said was " choreographed as tightly as the Bolshoi Ballet " . 
