Review of Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) by Hatem A — 22 Jul 2010

4.0/4.0.

Although its plot may seem contrived by today?s standards and nearly thirty years after its release, divorce movie ?Kramer vs. Kramer? still stands out as a great, high emotional, flawless piece of work with not a single false note or overplayed moment. And the performances just don?t get any better than this. Dustin Hoffman plays Ted, a workaholic (in the advertising business) father who returns one day from work to find his wife Joanna (Meryl Streep) abandoning him and their young son (Justin Henry) for no obvious reason. Just as he gets closer to his son and learns to be a good father but to an extent at the expense of his career (which takes up nearly the first half of the movie), his ex-wife returns and demands her son back. Hoffman is the heart-and-soul of the movie and the personality curve his character takes is something to behold. Streep plays her part with grace, humility and great subtlety in a role that could have easily been very overblown in wrong hands. 8-year-old Henry is also very good as the son who grows to love his father and Jane Alexander is good as the divorced mother neighbor who is Joanna?s best friend but gets closer to Ted when his wife leaves. Winner of Five Academy Awards: Picture, Director (Robert Benton), Actor (Hoffman), Supporting Actress (Streep), Adapted Screenplay (Benton off the 1977 novel by Avery Corman). Nominated for Four Others: Supporting Actor (Henry), Supporting Actress (Alexander), Cinematography, Editing.