This movie is not a movie about Michael Richard’s schizophrenia. By definition, that means it is a poor film. But putting that distinction aside, Kramer Vs. Kramer is a really good movie.
I'm skeptical, but continue.
Immediately, the film shows and doesn’t tell the roles of the characters, very briefly but very strongly. I was impressed with how quickly I knew the two well-rounded protagonists, Ted and Joanna. Joanna is a liberal young woman who understandably wants something “more” than just family, and Ted’s a relatively good guy, but bogged down by work and doesn’t spend time on his family because that’s a woman’s role. All of this is clear in the first five minutes, but I was amazed at how easily it established these archetypes without pandering to the audience.
The movie really shines in watching the dynamic grow between Ted and his son, after Joanna leaves them. I reached a conclusion some time ago that Dustin Hoffman is my favorite actor. His range is amazing, his acting is so naturalistic, and he just genuinely seems like a smart, well-rounded guy. On top of that, young Dustin Hoffman is so incredibly handsome. A lot of the conversations between Ted and Billy were improvised. It feels so naturally; Billy will be telling a story and Ted will ask a question, not because he needs to know but because he’s talking to his son. His comments never sound condescending, or like he’s just humoring the kid; he treats his son like an actual person while talking to Billy about things that Billy wants to talk about. What I am trying to say is, I have concluded that Dustin Hoffman is probably a pretty good dad in real life.
And! Look at how handsome he is!
Similarly, the kid who plays Billy, Justin Henry, is a kickass little actor. He doesn’t seem over-intelligent, but on the other hand, his role isn’t dumbed-down at all. One time, in high school, I wrote my best friend into a play and had his act the part. Repeatedly, I had to tell him to just be himself, but he stressed out about how his character would act. I would say “Just be you. I just need you to be you. Your motivations in this scene are *your* motivations. I don’t know what those are, I just know the sort of things that you say”. Obviously, that is the hardest thing in the world to do. Anyway, I bring that up just because it is easy enough to say that Justin was just acting like himself, an eight-year old kid. But it takes a lot of grace to just be yourself, and say scripted lines, and be in scripted scenarios. Most people don’t really know themselves, or how they act, or what to do. I’m wicked impressed that this little kid did.
The legal drama does not surface until the relationship between Ted and Justin is established, and then you begin watching heart-breaking character assassinations on Joanna and Ted as they battle for custody. What I love is you see the mutual love and respect that Ted and Joanna have for each other come through, even though their relationship did not work. Both feel little animosity towards each other, as they go through the motions of the legal system which necessitates manipulation and hostility. They are above it, and they feel none towards each other, while they go through this incredibly difficult thing. It’s nice to see human beings go past being petty, even when the circumstances really bring it out.
I mean, this movie is about being a good parent. It’s one of the only films I’ve ever seen that really illustrates, in a real, day-to-day way, what being a good parent means. The only other good parent movie I’ve seen is Life Is Beautiful, which may seem strange to bring up. But watching both, the motivations for the characters come exclusively from love for the child, whether that love is confused or not. Anyway. Kramer Vs. Kramer is a really good movie.
Nancy Is A Lawyer?
First of all, this film reminded me how much bullshit, meetings and dinners and schmaltzing goes into the legal profession. I mean, I work for non-profits, and there’s a lot of that there too, so I’m used to it. But doing this ontop of all of the strenuous paperwork, studying and research that it takes to build a strong case seems impossible while also living your life.
Furthermore, dutifully doing your job is one thing, but dutifully doing your job while occasionally dealing with stressful human emotions is another thing, AND dutifully doing your job while occasionally dealing with stressful human emotionas and being unsure about whether or not you are pitching for the right team is a completely ‘nother thing. You can really see the side of both Ted and Joanna, and the emotional/verbal/linguistic manipulation the lawyers dance with is demeaning to the honest-to-god truth of the matter. For example, Billy fell off the playground in one scene. He got some stitches. No biggie. Shit happens. Joanna’s lawyer says “Isn’t it true that you were not paying attention during your son’s accident, which left him permanently disfigured?”. That’s true. Ted was talking to a fellow parent. And Billy is permanently disfigured. But who would honestly expect a parent’s eyes to be on their kid 100% of the time? And sometimes kids fall down and get stitches, and yeah, technically they are disfigured, but it’s not like Billy has two noses.
What I am trying to say, and not doing well, is that the complexity of truth, of who is right or wrong, is not something that we can nail down. Life is messy and complicated. Justice isn’t an abstract concept, it’s something that we make up. And yeah, we have to do it, and we have to keep trying. But the density of the experience of humans, of families, of relationships, transcends the silly model we built on top of it. So, it is one thing when we are discussing tax litigation…that’s a wee bit less foggy. But 99% of the shit that humans come up with is foggy, and 99% of the time people are profoundly emotionally involved in all their foggy bullshit. I get that we need justice, but rather than involve myself in this raucous and ridiculous pile of confliction, I could just….not get involved?
Being a lawyer would get me engaged with illogical people (myself included)and force me to treat them logically. I guess what I wondering is if I am cold and mean enough to do that. I could be. Most people are dummies, and I don’t really mind handing a logical system to them and saying “Look, I know you’re sad, but these are the facts and you have to deal with them”. But it’s probably better to be warm and kind to people, in the long run. But I am having a Kirk day. Ask me on my next Spock day, and I will see how cold I am feeling.
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