Word: film
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...tired as we run with him to the hospital. When Margaret takes the stand and pleads with Joanna to recognize Ted's love for Billy, we sympathize with all three of them. Kramer takes a tough and relevant subject and forces us to get involved. Go see this film--it's worth the emotional effort...
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...
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...
Silver costs hit film users...