Word: benton
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...Robert Benton, Kramer vs. Kramer director, on an encore: "On a good day while making any movie, they talk about a sequel. I guarantee you, on a good day making 1941, they were talking about...
...Benton's consistent direction and Nestor Almendros' crisp photography channel these superb performances into a cohesive film. Several of the best sequnces include Hoffman and downstairs neighbor Margaret (Jane Alexander). The interplay between the two (they were opposite each other in a short scene in All the President's Men) establishes a new type of man-woman-in-the-movies relationship; they are friends, very strong friends, but just that. Alexander's performance is crucial to the success of the film, as she moves with the audience's feelings, first sympathetic to Joanna's plight and gradually realizing that...
...THIS IS not to argue, as many critics would have us believe, that Kramer is the film of the 1970s. Benton commits himself early on to the tightly-knit parallel construction and works well within this simple framework--the shopping scene and the breakfast scenes are terrific; but details go unexplored. Why doesn't Ted hire someone to take care of the kid? The bulk of the film develops the growing bond between Ted and Billy. All this time, Joanna presumably ests out in California making love to real estate developers and talking with $500-an-hour shrinks. She disappears...
...Benton plays disturbing games with time as well. Ted's boss sits him down for a little talk and we learn that Joanna has been gone for eight months. It seems more like three weeks. Forget that Ted could not possibly afford a snazzy, Upper East Side apartment on his $32,000 salary. And feel sorry for the guy whenever he ventures into a restaurant. Poor Ted just can't have a normal meal out. He sees Joanna for the first time in 18 months, gets fired, learns the court's verdict--all in chic, midtown restaurants...
Kramer vs. Kramer is slick, almost contrived. The script manipulates at times. Every scene ends with a big laugh or a big cry. Benton edited the film perfectly and an hour and a half passes without notice. But his style is somehow out of synch with his subject. The rough edges that are an essential part of Ted and Joanna's break-up are masked inthe smooth flow...