Meanwhile, Garrett goes out of his way to be helpful. He invites Matthew out for a few drinks and a game of pool, then tricks him into talking to an undercover psychiatrist at their neighborhood bar. It's all for Matthew's sake, you understand. Back at Liz's apartment, Matthew offers Liz an attentive ear and a shoulder to cry on. Times passes, and he offers other things.
More time passes, and the audience starts to rethink a lot of first impressions.
It's easy to imagine that with a few jokes here and there and a lighter tone, the basic plot of Attraction could be used as the blueprint for one of those effervescent French farces in which friends become lovers, and lovers become combatants while everyone chases everyone else. But Attraction is more serious stuff. It's not quite a thriller, even though it certainly looks and sounds like one, and even though there is, inevitably, a climactic outburst of violence. It's about driving by your ex's place at three in the morning to see if the light is on. It's about the collateral damage we cause, to ourselves and others, because even the best of us can be selfish bastards.