Reviews by:
@cine.bifrproductions
RATE THIS MOVIE
6
5
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3
Screenplay- 9/10
Direction- 8/10
Plot- 7.5/10
Technical- 6/10
Sound- 9/10
Themes- 7.5/10
Chills quotient- 7/10
Genre excellence- 8/10
Structure and pacing- 6.5/10
Entertainment- 6.5/10
A.Q- 6/10
“Kramer vs Kramer” is one of the first of such dysfunctional family dramas that would continue to be so popular, decades after the 70s. And it’s surely one of the best. The film knows how to blend lots of drama with some wonderful bits of comedy thrown in for good measure. The way it paints a picture of divorce and its consequences is realistic and extremely heart-warming. Undoubtedly one of the best family dramas, but hardly flawless.
There are many things that this film does right, and one thing I liked about it is that it portrays both parents as imperfect individuals. It would have been extremely easy for the writers to place all of the responsibility of the divorce on one of the parents, but this would have been unjust and impractical. The film does not portray Hoffman’s steady father as a hero, nor does it portray Streep’s wandering mother as a villain. They’re neither excellent nor awful as people; they’re just bad at marriage.
Despite the fact that Ted was portrayed as the villain at the start of the film, I found myself connecting with him more than I did with Joanna. I believe the major reason for this is that I regarded him as flawed rather than terrible as a person. It could have been better if Joanna’s character had been explored more thoroughly, since we would have had a greater understanding of her character’s thoughts and feelings, and I would have been able to identify with her. However, because her character is so inadequately written, this is difficult.
During the film’s middle sections, Streep is absent from the screen while Hoffman and the child come to know each other, as Hoffman’s responsibilities as a father finally lead to his dismissal from the ad firm. These are the most moving sequences in the film. The movie’s writer and director, Robert Benton, has provided his characters with dialogue that has the ring of absolute everyday accuracy, but in the case of the kid he and Hoffman, their repartee is so touching and hits close to home, with their relationship having bits and pieces that could relate to every boy and his father.
What that means is that we can see the father and son learning about each other and growing closer. There are many humorous and heart-felt moments during the film, many of which involve Ted and his son, and I’ll admit that I was pleased that his son ended up bonding better with Ted towards the end.
Robert Benton doesn’t try to do anything fancy with his movie; its strength lies in its performances, those of Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep particularly, playing a divorced couple fighting childishly and selfishly over their son. Scene after scene shows us why Hoffman is one of the best American actors to ever grace the screen, and Streep gave us all an indication of her yet-to-come legendary status. The courtroom scene in which they duke it out for custody, and in which each is forced to hurt the other in terrible ways, is devastating, and feels authentic.
The script is so meticulously crafted that each dialogue, however irrelevant it may seem, means something for each of the characters involved. The characters aren’t just speaking with each other; they’re revealing things about themselves and may occasionally be observed in the process of discovering their own motivations. That is what makes “Kramer vs. Kramer” so moving: We get the feeling at times that personalities are changing and decisions are being made even as we watch them.
Yes, the courtroom scenes were extremely dramatised and consisted of certain illogical arguments, as a reason to further the story. The film also kept jumping between different tones pretty rapidly at times, and other times it felt like the scenes were dragged on for too long. And I guess my only other criticism would be that Joanna’s character was extremely shallow, which is contradictory to the performance given by Streep. This just shows the missed opportunity of better character writing.
I just have to give a special mention to this film’s score. Now I’m not sure if that was an original score or a soundtrack, but whatever it was, elevated the effect this movie had on me. The melody, so lovely and peaceful and furthermore the use of this melody was extremely appropriate in reference to the contexts it was used in.
Kramer vs. Kramer gets a lot of unfair criticism these days because it was the film that beat “Apocalypse Now” for the 1979 Best Picture Academy Award; but comparing these two films is like comparing football to squash; they’re nothing alike, but why can’t we enjoy them both?
It remains a movie with enormous sensitivity and compassion, and context helps clear up some misconceptions regarding the film’s representation of motherhood, gender roles, and the divorce process, all of which were intimately linked and changed.
Yes, it’s dated and Meryl and Dustin were pretty young. But I would recommend this for a lot of people, because I think most can relate in some way. There are funny, sad, happy, and relieving moments that are carried away terrifically by these great actors. It’s very much relevant in this day and age and that’s clear from the reason why ‘Marriage story (2019)’ did so well. For me, ‘Marriage Story’ would be a modern iteration of ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’, with each film containing details and aspects to make them unique.
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