As we continue our jaunt through the storied history of Best Picture winners, I am struck by two things – how often I think you can at least make an argument that the Academy got things right and how often I still disagree with the selection. The seeming contradiction applies to this month’s subject. While I believe Kramer vs. Kramer (1979, dir. Robert Benton) to be a fantastic movie and worthy of an argument as the top film of the year, it is hard to argue against any list for the year that does not have Apocalypse Now in the top spot.
Kramer vs. Kramer tells the story of Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman), who is married to his job more than he is married to his family, wife Joanna (Meryl Streep) and son Billy (Justin Henry). This becomes a problem when Joanna announces she is leaving him and Billy. Ted is forced to adjust his life some and become more of a parent than he had ever planned to be. This adjustment is not easy for Ted or Billy. After some time, Joanna reenters the picture requesting custody. This leads to a very contentious divorce centered around what is best for Billy and how much Ted and Joanna have changed.
There are two elements that make this film compelling. The first is the universally strong acting performances. Hoffman and Streep are both on top of their games throughout the film. Watching Hoffman go from totally in control of his life to floundering to slowly figuring it out to finally helpless is a lesson in acting. Similarly, Streep – who arguably has the tougher job as her transformation mostly happens off screen while the audience spends some time hating her – gives an early indication that she was going to grow into the greatest film actress of all time. Additionally, young Justin Henry quite possibly gives the greatest film performance of any child actor ever (possible nods to Sarah Bolger in In America or Jacob Tremblay in Room).
The second element that sets it apart is the uncompromising and detailed look at divorce. It is a rare film that focuses so much time and effort on such a difficult subject. Few people want to watch a couple go through a divorce on screen. Our natural inclinations to choose sides as a film audience often makes divorce an undesirable subject to explore from filmmakers as well. I believe Benton (who won two Oscars himself for directing and writing the film) walks that balance brilliantly and simply without forcing us to choose sides, partly because Joanna returns just as we are starting to choose Ted. (For the record, while I believe this is the best depiction of divorce ever captured on film, check out the famous fight scene between Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story if you want to see a close second.)
All of this makes it sound as though Kramer vs. Kramer is an impossibly sad film to watch, but it is not. There are great moments of happiness throughout, and ultimately the film leaves you with hope even within its quasi-ambiguous ending. The journey through challenging subject matter is always fraught with peril to a degree, but I cannot recommend taking the journey highly enough. You will be better for it, and you will get a chance to remind yourself of the brilliance of two of the greatest actors to ever grace the silver screen.
FUN FACT – The strong performances of Hoffman and Streep are sometimes at least partially credited to their life circumstances while filming. Hoffman was going through a divorce himself (and, in fact, improvised some dialogue he had experienced through that process at times), and Streep was still reeling from the premature death of her partner, fellow actor John Cazale, only months earlier.
Just Watch says that Kramer vs. Kramer is not currently streaming anywhere for free. It is available for rent/purchase on most platforms including Apple TV, YouTube, and Amazon Prime.
As a reminder, here is the original post that details the scores and weighting system.