Significance of Ryan

I think it just emphasize how disconnected all the women in the movies were, from any closeness. From the outside, Ryan and his wife seemed to have everything for a happy life. The wife almost seemed trying to hard to be the perfect woman. She owns a business, her husband works for her. They have enough money to build a vacation home. And not just a vacation home, but one built with local material. Why did she actually need those sandstones? Why not put that much effort into building her family bonds? Unless it was a long time affair, I didn't sense any passion or closeness between Ryan or Dern'a character. And it's odd that I only remember the side character'set names, Ryan and Beth. It's almost as if the three main characters weren't as important as the side characters.