Melodrama about the divorce of a couple.
A much better movie than it really had any right to be
I have never seen this before and in contrast I would say Marriage Story is a contemporary version of Kramer vs Kramer- but this hasn't aged well. I can understand it, the positive reviews are well deserved at the time of release but it just doesn't hold up and I wouldn't recommend watching it today- Marriage Story is the better choice.
Great movie with some great perfomances and very realistic.Reccomend this to everyone 7.7/10
Brilliant drama.
"Kramer vs. Kramer" is a terrific drama about an unhappy woman who walks out on her husband and young son. The husband now has to take up the responsibilities of taking care of the boy. As he does, they get to know each other better. But then, the mother and wife returns, and she wants custody of the boy. "Kramer vs. Kramer" has lots of drama with some wonderful bits of comedy thrown in for good measure. Dustin Hoffman won his first Best Actor Oscar for his brilliant performance here. Most people say his performance in "Rainman", which won him his second Oscar, is his best. He was great in that film, but I disagree that its his best. In my opinion, the best performance of Hoffman's career is in this movie. Scene after scene shows us why Hoffman is one of the best American actors working today. He's also funny at times. Also giving a terrific performance is Meryl Streep, who wasn't as well known when she made this film like she is today. Streep, like Hoffman, also won her first Oscar (for Best Supporting Actress) for her work in "Kramer vs. Kramer" as the wife and mother who tries to find herself after walking out on her family. Justin Henry, who was only 8 years old when the film came out, is wonderful as Hoffman and Streep's son. He won an Oscar nomination for his role here, and still to this day he is the youngest performer to receive an Oscar nomination in a competitive category (Best Supporting Actor). Jane Alexander is also fine as a conserned family friend. She too got an Oscar nomination (for Supporting Actress where she lost to co-star Streep). "Kramer vs. Kramer" is a great film from start to finish. Writer-director Robert Benton has made a film that's absolutely unforgettable.
It's nice to see a smaller movie focused on real people who have real life problems. Acting is great and story is very sad.
Review by r96skBlockedParent2024-01-10T14:48:17Z
Much more heart than expected!
'Kramer vs. Kramer' is a film I've heard of for as long as I can remember, though I didn't actually know much about it itself... a quick glance at Wikipedia and I saw that they class it as a "legal drama", which is obvious given the title. With that, I was waiting for a long court battle to start so was surprised to see it not arrive until the final 30 or so minutes. The film is actually mainly about a father and son, in how they react to a certain life event.
And boy do the filmmakers do a great job at making you care for the characters of Dustin Hoffman (Ted) and Justin Henry (Billy)... and even Meryl Streep's Joanna, though I could've personally done with more development for the latter's character; especially as the ending is quite predictable, so additional scenes for her side of the story would've been nice. I wouldn't say it's a big deal, however, as you see what's needed.
Hoffman puts in a terrific performance, as does youngster Henry. Streep also brings a good showing, as do Jane Alexander and Howard Duff more minimally. Credit to everyone onscreen, in truth. It's, of course, sad to read about the offscreen incident(s) that occurred during the production involving Hoffman and Streep, albeit settled incident(s) between the two.
In conclusion, and this won't come as a surprise given my rating and all the positive noise that this film has received in the decades since its release, I'd undoubtedly recommend this motion picture from 1979.