A crucial time-capsule movie in the way it captures and questions American attitudes towards gender, parenting, and work in the 1970s. Kramer vs. Kramer stars Dustin Hoffman as Ted, a chauvinistic New York City advertising creative who is suddenly given full responsibility of his 7-year-old son when his wife (Meryl Streep) walks out on him. After a bumpy, Mr. Mom-style start, director Robert Benton settles the film into a quietly observed depiction of the challenges and rewards of single parenting, anchored by a Hoffman performance that mostly shakes off his gesticulating instincts in favor of a relational rootedness (he’s particularly good with young Justin Henry as the boy). Story-wise, Kramer vs. Kramer suffers by sidelining Streep’s Joanna, who disappears for much of the film, only to return for the custody dispute. Streep is riveting, of course, especially in the courtroom scenes, but she can’t fully overcome the lopsided nature of the narrative. The problem isn’t that the audience is encouraged to side with Ted; it’s that we don’t know Joanna well enough to even consider her as an equal person within the dynamic. That imbalance was reflected in the film’s copious Oscar attention: Hoffman won for Best Actor (his fourth nomination and first win); Streep earned her second nomination and first win, as Best Supporting Actress. The movie itself took home Best Picture, while Benton won for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
(4/24/2026)
