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| Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) and his ex-wife, Joanna (Meryl Streep), clash over custody of their young son. |
Release Date: Dec. 19, 1979. Running Time: 105 minutes. Screenplay: Robert Benton. Based on the Novel by: Avery Corman. Producer: Richard Fischoff, Stanley R. Jaffe. Director: Robert Benton.
THE PLOT:
Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) is having one of the best days of his life. He has just landed an important client for his advertising firm, and his boss (George Coe) is putting him in charge of the account. It's a big deal for his career, and he is buzzing with excitement when he gets home...
...Only for his wife, Joanna (Meryl Streep), to tell him that she's leaving him, and that she's leaving their young son, Billy (Justin Henry), with him.
At first, he doesn't take her seriously, certain that she'll be back in a few days. As days turn into weeks, then months, it becomes clear that he has been left as Billy's sole caregiver. His work inevitably suffers from the demands of raising a young boy - but almost to his own surprise, he becomes a genuinely good, attentive father.
Then the unthinkable happens. Joanna returns, more self-confident and already successful in her fledgling career. She feels more herself than she has in years, if ever - and she announces to Ted that she wants her little boy and intends to sue for custody!
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| Ted is left as sole caregiver for his son, Billy (Justin Henry). |
DUSTIN HOFFMAN AS TED KRAMER:
Joanna leaves because she doesn't feel like a whole human being, but that could equally apply to Ted. He has defined himself by his job to the exclusion of all else. When he comes home, he pays no attention to his wife, just talking in salesman's patter about work while making a work-related phone call. When she announces that she's leaving him, it takes a moment for him to even register it.
Interestingly, his first reaction is the same at both work and home: To deny the existence of a problem. He cooks breakfast for himself and Billy the morning after Joanna leaves, and he's downright manic in his insistence that this is good and fun. Then he assures his skeptical boss that he's on top of everything and that there's no reason for concern.
Ted's shift in character is portrayed with subtlety, with star Dustin Hoffman gradually showing a more relaxed posture and injecting more warmth into his voice. I was particularly impressed by the two showcase scenes: first, when Ted rushes Billy to the emergency room after an accident; second, when he testifies at the custody hearing. These are the type of "acting" scenes that are practically prefabricated Oscar clips... yet Hoffman doesn't milk them, instead letting the emotion in his voice and eyes carry the moments.
Honestly, I half-wish that Hoffman's performance was lesser, if only because of his legendarily vile behavior toward co-star Meryl Streep. But I refuse to pretend that a good performance is a bad one, and his acting is exceptional. He's authentic and restrained in a way that makes a perfect fit for the movie's tone, and there's not one second that makes me feel as if I'm watching Dustin Hoffman, Actor rather than Ted Kramer. I'd have loved to have seen the award go to Roy Scheider's career-best work in All That Jazz... but if pressed, I'd have to reluctantly admit that the Academy got it right.
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| The film opens on Joanna, feeling drained and defeated as she prepares to leave Ted. |
MERYL STREEP AS JOANNA KRAMER:
Meryl Streep won her first Oscar, and there isn't a doubt in my mind that she deserved it. Though the movie follows Ted, it opens on her, watching Billy while preparing to leave. It's a simple close-up, but we can clearly see her exhaustion and sheer defeat. When she leaves, she resists Ted's efforts to pull her back into the apartment, refusing to go back inside even to pick up her luggage.
She isn't seen again until nearly the film's midpoint, but that opening is strong enough that she remains a presence. Also, because she is shown first and at a personal low point, it creates early sympathy and puts the initially unlikable Ted in the position of having to earn the viewer's loyalty.
When she finally returns, she carries herself more confidently. She flinches when Ted rages at her, but she doesn't back down. She also holds her composure during the custody hearing even when Ted's lawyer tears into her. Streep is superb in that scene, particularly as Joanna absorbs his accusations of failing as both a wife and mother, clearly feeling those too keenly.
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| Ted and his neighbor, Margaret (Jane Alexander), become friends - and refreshingly, nothing more. |
OTHER CHARACTERS:
Billy: Billy (Justin Henry) is fidgety, the way children are. He spills juice on Ted's work. He gets into a playground accident because he's careless. He can't keep still when visiting Ted's new office, swiveling back and forth in an office chair after Ted scoops him away from the high windowsill. He misbehaves and throws tantrums - then worries that Ted will also leave, fretting that the reason his mother left was because he was "bad." In short, he feels like a real child, and that helps the movie's emotional moments to resonate far more than if he'd been an idealized movie moppet.
Margaret: Joanna's divorced friend, who Ted initially blames her for his wife leaving. She is calm in the face of his anger, telling him how unhappy his wife has been and calmly deflating his rant that this ruined "one of the five best days of (his) life." Once Ted is taking care of Billy, they become fast friends, commiserating about their failed marriages while watching their kids on the playground. She becomes the one person he absolutely trusts, with him at one point asking if she would take Billy if anything should happen to him. Jane Alexander is appealing and likable, and the movie refreshingly keeps her and Ted as friends rather than introducing any romantic subplot.
Jim: At the beginning of the movie, Ted distrusts Margaret and considers his boss, Jim (George Coe), to be his friend. As his situation changes, those relationships switch places. When he tells Jim about his wife leaving, the older man almost immediately suggests that he drop Billy off with relatives. He is consistently unsympathetic when Ted has to act as a parent. I don't blame Jim for being upset when Ted misses an important deadline or neglects his work - but he also tries to stop Ted from picking Billy up from a party when the only thing he's neglecting is an after-hours office social.
Shaunessy: Ted's attorney (Howard Duff) warns him that the custody hearing won't be easy: "I'll have to play rough. If I play rough, you can bet they will too." He is honest enough to temper Ted's expectations, advising him that the fight will be expensive and that the outcome is far from certain. In court, however, he lives up to his initial warning, going after Joanna to an extent that makes even Ted uncomfortable.
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| Ted with his lawyer, Shaunessy (Howard Duff), who warns that he'll have to "play rough." |
REFLECTING CONCERNS OF THE TIME:
With the benefit of hindsight, it seems evident that the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1979 should have gone to Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. That's become a legendary cinematic release, while Kramer vs. Kramer isn't even particularly well-remembered by modern viewers.
But as I've said before, movies reflect the concerns and values of the cultures that make them. Shifts in gender roles and family dynamics were a major part of public consciousness in the late '70s and early '80s, and it's no surprise that this was reflected by the movies of that time. It is no coincidence that this and the following year's similarly themed Ordinary People won back-to-back Best Picture Oscars, with Terms of Endearment also nabbing the Oscar just a few years later.
I'd have picked a different winner all three times (Apocalypse Now, Raging Bull, and The Right Stuff, respectively). But at time of release, the winners dealt with concerns that audiences were feeling, and that combined with their high overall quality propelled them to success. Besides, my belief that another film was more deserving does not equate to there being a fault in the movie that won.
And Kramer vs. Kramer is a very good movie.
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| Joanna testifies. This was the scene that probably won Meryl Streep her Oscar. |
OTHER MUSINGS:
Director Robert Benton's filmmaking choices emphasize authenticity, with techniques reminiscent of a documentary. It's not uncommon for scenes or parts of scenes to be shot through a doorway, as if we're catching a private moment from the outside. Wider shots or shots from a distance are favored, with close-ups held for specific moments or reactions. There's a wordless early scene in Ted's apartment that shows him and Billy getting ready for a new day. The camera remains stationary as the two move in and out of frame, a choice that helps to convey that we're witnessing a routine that has developed in the time Joanna's been gone.
This is a story that takes place over a period of time, and the script allows deliberate narrative gaps. We never actually see Ted and Margaret become friends, for example. They're just watching their kids at the playground, with it clear that a friendship has formed over time. Badly done, this sort of gap can come across as frustrating (see Irene Dunne's racism disappearing offscreen in Cimarron). Here, it works. I think part of that is that the situation is so simple and relatable. Ted and Margaret share similar circumstances as divorced single parents, the playground is clearly part of their regular routine, and so the blanks pretty well fill themselves.
This is a rare movie based on a book that, in my opinion, improves on the source material. The book's extended opening, following Joanna as her unhappiness spirals, has been discarded, so that the movie opens at the moment she's preparing to leave. Despite this major cut, Joanna actually comes across as a more complete character in the movie, thanks in no small part to Meryl Streep's performance. She requested changes so that viewers would understand Joanna's perspective, and she shows an effective contrast between the depressed, defeated woman of the opening scenes and the more poised one of the movie's second half.
The movie's ending is far stronger than the book's. I won't spoil it, except to say that both book and movie end in a narratively similar manner. However, the movie has the two Kramers interacting on screen, and the final decision is reached in a way that doesn't diminish either of them. This makes it a more satisfying conclusion.
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| Ted and Billy, exhausted after the first day of the court battle. |
OVERALL:
Kramer vs. Kramer trusts its audience. There are manipulative moments, such as the emergency room scene and Ted's testimony. But even these are played in a fairly low key, while most of the rest of the film plays out in wide and medium shots.
There's a sense of distance, as if we're witnessing a story rather than being thrust into the middle of it - and we are trusted to bridge that distance to feel and connect with the emotions on our own terms. I find that vastly more effective than tear-jerks that spoon feed (or force feed) emotions, and I think it's one of the qualities that distinguishes this from many of its contemporaries.
Do I think it's a better movie than Apocalypse Now? No. But it's more than good enough for me to understand why this won Best Picture at a time when changing family dynamics were a widespread concern. Well-scripted, well-made, and superbly acted, this remains well worth watching.
Oh, and just for fun: Boggle at what was considered a good salary in 1979. There's been just a bit of inflation between then and now, hasn't there?
Rating: 8/10.
Best Picture - 1978: The Deer Hunter
Best Picture - 1980: Ordinary People
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