Kramer Vs. Kramer

Is it more manly if you blink back tears?

Actually, I don't want denigrate Kramer Vs. Kramer as merely a tearjerker. It's a very sober, straightforward account of the breakdown of a relationship and the formation of a new one. It's become quite an iconic film since it's release in 1979, so much so that I knew the story and knew certain images, such as the first reunion in the park.

I thought prior to watching the film that the two actors would take up equal screen time, but not so. Hoffmann plays the workaholic father left stranded with a 7 year old son and the broken pieces of a marriage, while Streep plays an absent mother, disillusioned with her marriage and alienated form her son. Both actors are excellent. Hoffmann would seem to carry the film, as we witness his transformation from a father who seems disinterested in his son, to one who would go to any lengths for him. We feel his frustrations, and he gives a relatively naturalistic performance. Streep, although she has a smaller screen time, is very touching and believable as a woman at the crossroads in her life. There was a chance of the film becoming too one sided, but the script does well to show empathy with both characters. The little boy seems refreshingly normal, mopey and unsettled like a young child would be in the midst of a divorce. Personally, I generally think it's unnatural for kids to act in films; the mental facility shouldn't be developed enough to react to tough roles. But this child performance worked because the script seemed authentic.

The all round film is very nicely crafted. The characters and drama are allowed to breathe, but the editor also knows when to end the scene. It has a nice, seamless flow to it. The mise en scene and cinematography also contributes to the authenticity and flow of the film. Nestor Almendros, who also shot 'Days of Heaven', photographs the New York Streets with considerable aplomb. The autumnal scenes in the park are subtle and textured in their appearance.

Benton has crafted a very touching and very convincing divorce drama. The film works best in it's creation and development of the relationship between Hoffmann's character and his son. The three scenes that bookmark the journey are when the two make breakfast together, While the first time goes disastrously, exposing their difficulties, by the final time they are completely in sync. These kinda scenes seem pretty much universal.

7.5/10