I was recently reading a book that walked through an entire scene frame by frame as an example of a simple, yet perfect scene. This scene from Kramer vs. Kramer was the french toast moment early in the film. ‘Story’ by Robert Mckee is the book, and it is an extremely detailed narration on writing a great screenplay for a movie. It details how in this french toast scene, we can grasp so much about the main character from such a simple act of making french toast for breakfast. After reading that chapter, I checked out this film and found that description to remain parallel throughout the rest of the film. The writing and acting in this film were extremely impressive which inspired me to write tonight. It seems as though I only write about films I love, and although that may be true, applying my knowledge to art I enjoy is far more satisfying than getting upset at something abysmal. The Oscar Best Picture winner (along with four more awards) was a film that impressed me beyond the typical praising categories that I appreciate most.
Kramer vs. Kramer
A great story is one that finds distinct depth from simplicity. Kramer vs. Kramer follows the story of a husband (Ted Kramer - Dustin Hoffman) obsessed with work whose wife (Joanna Kramer - Meryl Streep) suddenly leaves him with his son. He then learns parenting skills that were way overdue until he finds himself in a custody battle over a year later. Divorce and family feud stories aren’t uncommon yet some tend to be relatively on the nose about the protagonist and antagonist. Here, both characters are not the best of people and are overall unlikeable for one or more reasons. Yet our characters are written so humanely that we can still fully empathize with them, and observe their actions with patience and forgiveness. There are some moments that are a little concerning which could just be a product of its time, but I did say they were both unlikeable. There is drama between the two main characters, but I found that even though our alignment (In film studies, alignment is the way the audience is made to feel about a character based on his thoughts or experiences) is tugged back and forth for both characters, there is a resolution that is bigger than the both of them. Their love for their son is more important than any of their differences between each other and it pans out in the film beautifully.
The story was great, but the performances were incredible. The picture above is from the french toast scene early in the film. It is the first night after his wife suddenly leaves him with his son, who he has neglected most of his life. They’re up before work and school and his seven-year-old son asks for french toast for breakfast to which his father eagerly agrees and heads straight into the kitchen. He gets straight into it by cracking a few eggs, along with their shells, into a coffee mug. He then begins whisking the eggs with a butter knife while the oil in the pan is getting way too hot. While he is not making the dish anywhere near correctly, his son keeps reminding him what his mother would do instead, yet his dad’s male ego is obviously in the way of any sort of acceptance of criticism. When it’s time to dip the bread, it is too big for the mug where the eggs sit and it ends up being folded and crushed into a mushy mess. The son continues to question his dad’s clear incompetence in the kitchen which he had never helped before his wife left, but he continues and eventually burns all the toast (Along with his hand). On a screenplay, this scene would look much like a failed tutorial on how to make french toast. On-screen, however, we get to see a neglectful father too filled with pride to acknowledge his faults in front of his son, and too shallow to understand where he fell short in his marriage. From the way he speaks and acts we realize his male ego may be too far gone to change while his son’s blank stares back at him show he hasn’t helped around the house once in his life. Most of these characteristics could be depicted through direct dialogue from possibly an argument between his wife calling out his antics, or a conversation between father and son asking for help. Yet in Kramer vs. Kramer, all of that is brilliantly shown in a simple three-minute scene making french toast.
Having a theme of ‘love’ in a film can be exceptionally vague, yet here we find that theme being used broadly over anything. I found love to be in this film over multiple different kinds of relationships. There is love between husband and wife, parent and son, employee and boss, two friends, and of course ex-husband and ex-wife. Almost all of this love was shown internally as well, which provided multiple sweet moments that stuck with me afterward. This movie at times does catch a few cliche scenes which is probably one reason why it was such a huge success in theaters. The theme was humanized and created realistic expectations between the characters and how a real couple might behave in a situation like a custody battle. There are extreme moments of anger and sadness that can also be met with softness over the idea of the child’s perspective. Although our main characters aren’t always likable, they feel real and gave performances that won both of them Oscars (Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role). Not only is that impressive, but it is also extremely deserved after the emotional yet realistic performances they both gave.
I feel like I should’ve known about this film before reading about it but it is what it is. Although this wasn’t as stylistically as many other films that I watched and loved, I wanted to watch a movie with a great story, and I was not disappointed. There was still some nice cinematography in here, but this film had the charm of seventies cinema with its exceptional story and phenomenal performances. This is also the second film featuring Dustin Hoffman that I’m reviewing, the first being All the President’s Men (1976). I wouldn’t call this movie life-changing or anything yet it simply felt extremely well-made and enjoyable for a broad audience. I wouldn’t call it eccentric or avant-garde since it was an easy watch but that doesn’t take anything away from a solid film. This film is one to add to your watchlist for when comes a stormy quiet night and you don’t know what to watch. If Kramer vs. Kramer comes up, chances are you’ll enjoy it.
i really enjoyed reading this review :)