Avery Corman described his source novel as a chronicle of the selfish youth of the '60s running into the problems of divorce in the '70s. But the creative triumvirate of Jaffe, Benton and Hoffman pooled their personal experiences of painful divorce to make Kramer vs. Kramer more personal in approach. The Kramers fall apart for the usual reasons - the unfulfilled wife, the husband whose life is centered on his work. Dustin Hoffman, originally not interested in the story, found himself playing a character getting divorced, while he himself was in the midst of a separation.

It is indeed a Hoffman show all the way, as Meryl Streep is physically absent most of the time, and little Justin Henry's performance is controlled under Hoffman's direction. As egotistical as Hoffman is, he's still something of a marvel to behold, retaining our sympathy when he's playing pigheaded, and eliciting our approval as he learns how to be a father. The setpiece moments in this film are all the more amazing for the fact that what we so vividly remember are the most minute expressions and reactions of Hoffman and Henry. The 'french toast' scene doesn't come off as blocked or covered ... we seem to really be there witnessing it.

Hoffman's work life and other concerns are so lightly sketched in, that beyond the top three or four names in the cast, other faces barely have time to make their statements and move on. A young JoBeth Williams has a memorable moment in the hallway with Justin; veteran Howard Duff's role as the defense lawyer has been pared down to a minimum. Best friend Jane Alexander has a much larger presence, but drops out of the film just before the home stretch. Yet the movie never feels hemmed-in or minimalist. For the Emergency Room scene, which consists of just a couple of tracking shots following a running Hoffman, several blocks of traffic right off of Central Park had to be shut down.

Meryl Streep's career was already going into orbit after her television debut in the Holocaust miniseries; she shot her scenes for Kramer vs. Kramer while simultaneously working on Manhattan for Woody Allen. The Joanna Kramer part was a particularly tough one. Audiences could be expected to root so fervently for Ted the husband, that it's practically impossible to generate sympathy for the mother who abandons her child. Streep projects innate decency and restraint - at the beginning she's so remorseful, we cannot help but forgive her even as she's walking out the door. Hoffman actually helps her during this episode, by accentuating his boorish selfcenteredness.

Kramer vs. Kramer made it very clear for a generation of selfish baby boomers, that the responsibility of raising kids isn't something to be taken lightly. Little Billy has feelings, an ego, a desire to be special, and even the vain Ted soon learns the depth and satisfaction to be had from relating to a child who depends on nobody but you for practically everything. Ted Kramer also puts his child's welfare first, and makes some humiliating, previously unthinkable, career choices. This is a concept difficult to dramatize ... the idea that there could be a reason to work below one's earning level and retain self-respect must have come as big news to the disco generation.

Kramer vs. Kramer predictably winds up in an involved courtroom scene, but one organized not along legal lines but instead as a process of emotional discovery. In bitter conflict for possession of the child, each party has no desire to thwart the other, yet they find themselves in an ugly and cruel legal situation. Their life stories are aired in public; an accident can be interpreted as negligence. By the time the final shot has unspooled, most viewers are no longer aware of anything except the intensity of the drama in front of them. When the film ends so abruptly, they're also surprised that they find it so satisfying an experience.

Columbia TriStar's transfer of Kramer vs. Kramer starts with a very grainy torch lady logo that thankfully gives way to a pristine 16:9 transfer of the film. Nestor Almendros' muted and soft colors are rendered beautifully; this is a film with a very clean look, and few opticals. Every shot is a model of carefully graded light and shade. The camera does few 'tricks'; and supports the drama between the characters with an almost-invisible non-presence.

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor,
Kramer vs. Kramer rates:
Movie: Excellent
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
Supplements: trailers, documentary, "Finding the Truth: The Making of Kramer vs. Kramer"
Packaging: Amaray case
Reviewed: August 29, 2001