Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Directed by Robert Benton. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Justin Henry, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Howard Duff, George Coe, Bill Moor, JoBeth Williams, Howland Chamberlain. [PG]

Quietly-thoughtful and emotionally-wrenching drama of workaholic Hoffman, who has been a failure as both a husband and a father to the point where wife Streep has become so fed up that she decides to abandon him and their son (Henry) just to break free, forcing Dad to learn how to raise the boy he hardly knows on his own; they forge a deep and loving bond…but then Mom comes back looking to get custody. Surprisingly balanced in the way it refuses to take sides and treats both adults as flawed people who share merit and blame (Streep could have easily come across as detestable for both her decision to leave and her later actions that would separate father from son). Cutesy at times in depicting some of the heartwarming father-son episodes—though Henry gives child acting a good name in a couple of his more emotional scenes—but those scenes are persuasive shorthand in developing their relationship during Streep’s extended absence. Benton’s strengths as a scenarist don’t always translate into strengths as a visualist, and for every subjective impression that works (a fast tracking shot of Hoffman sprinting to the emergency room, bloodied child clutched against his body) at least one other doesn’t (a hacky slow zoom on Hoffman in a restaurant after he receives bad news). Won five Oscars including Best Picture, Actor (Hoffman, his first), and Supporting Actress (Streep, also her first).

79/100