Review of Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) by Ethan A — 25 Jun 2011

Ahhh...gotta love custody hearings.

Kramer vs. Kramer is the Oscar winning classic of 1979 about a divorced family battling for the custody of their child. Dustin Hoffman is sensational as the boys father, and Meryl Streep is great, but shockingly little screen time, as the mother. Even though this movie is sold as a trial drama, most of the film is actually about the father's relationship with his son. It actually doesn't even get to trial until like the last 15 minutes. So it is a lot like To Kill a Mockingbird, it is a trial movie without being a trial movie. The best acting in this by far is the little boy, played superbly by Justin Henry. It sucks he did nothing else with his career.

As I was watching this, I totally thought it was going to end at the steps of the courthouse, as the family was walking in to discover who got custody, and just end...never finding out. I thought that would have been a perfect ending, allowing the viewer to make their own decision on who should get the poor boy. After I saw the actual ending (which I won't spoil), I had pretty much the same feeling.

Kramer vs. Kramer is a dramatic masterpiece the everyone should watch.