Kramer vs Kramer Analysis

 Kramer vs Kramer (1979)

Directed by: Robert Benton
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep
Streaming on Netflix.

The films made in Hollywood in the 1970s are some of the best films of all time. This film has such a simple yet brilliantly layered screenplay. The conflict is simple, Joanna leaves her workaholic husband Ted with the child. When she says that she doesn't love him, the lift door gets closed shutting him off - visually. The husband and the child initially don't get along well. Ted tries to be a father, but miserably fails - which is visually captured by the scene where he tries to make a bread omlette, and it's all over the place. Over a period of time, after few incidents they get along well - they see pleasures and pain together. Ted slowly starts to prioritize his son, and his son starts loving his father. There is an arc for their relationship and as well as for Ted's character. 

When they are together, his Joanna comes back claiming his son and from here, it's a Marriage Story-esque courtroom drama where both lawyers are very hard on the opposition, in a way that everyone (including us) gets to know what's going on in their heads. There are some brilliant arguments put down by both sides, Ted says that if women are capable of working equally as men, then how can the court decide that the mother is a better parent right away? And I actually loved Joanna's story - I would have love to see Joanna's story as a spin off, about what her own journey of self discovery. The ending seemed a little convenient, that Joanna has a change of mind, and here we again see Ted making the omlette but this time successfully and the lift door closing between each other.

The performances were so good, they serve the plot as well as bring in the depth, especially Meryl Streep - I read that initially the character was written more hollow than how it turned out to be, and I could actually feel a lot of life lived in Meryl Streep's appearance. It's also probably because of the loss she was going through in real life. I absolutely loved this film, it's a masterclass for screenwriters and directors.