Kramer vs. Kramer Movie Review

          Kramer vs. Kramer is an excellent movie about a father, somewhat obsessed with his job, who, when his wife leaves, is suddenly thrust into the role of single father for his young son. Just as he is getting comfortable in this role, however, his wife returns to take full custody of Billy and Mr. Kramer has to take it to the courts to fight for the right to keep his son.

          At the beginning, Mr. Kramer is shown to be quite privileged. He has good living conditions, nice things (ex. Clothing) and a respected position in a high paying job. He comes home at the end of the work day with exciting news of a possible promotion on the horizon only to find that his wife, Joanna, has been driven to the extreme and has made the decision to leave him. Joanna obviously doesn’t feel as privileged as her husband. She states, later, that she felt she no longer had the right to her own identity, and that no one, particularly her husband, would listen to what she had to say so she did not have the right of self-expression either. With Joanna gone, all the responsibility of the fulfillment of their son’s [Billy’s] rights go to Mr. Kramer.

          At first, it seems like Mr. Kramer is not able to provide Billy’s rights. He is late picking him up, he has difficulty proving him nutritious meals and once he gets angry and yells at him, making Billy believe that he doesn’t have his father’s love. Gradually, though, with the help of his neighbour and his growing need to give his son happiness, he becomes a good father, with a strong bond attaching him to his son who is happy and healthy.

          As his son’s privileges grow, however, Mr. Kramer’s decreases and it becomes obvious that he is being discriminated against for being a single father. His boss is suspicious of Mr. Kramer’s dedication to his job when he hears about him being the primary caretaker of Billy, and he eventually fires him after several times Mr. Kramer wasn’t able to give 100% to his job because he was taking care of his son. When he wants to fight for custody of Billy, Mr. Kramer’s lawyer warns him that the judge usually sides with the mother and it is obvious during the trial that there is a bias towards Joanna. Mr. Kramer’s words are taken out of context and his prejudicial firing is used against him. Joanna ends up winning the case, and though Mr. Kramer is not an unfit or unfair parent, the right to see his child everyday is taken away from him.

          This movie is a fantastic avocation for single fathers and the rights of parents and children and though it shows a bias towards Mr. Kramer and doesn’t give us all of Joanna’s story, none of the characters are one-dimensional and there is no clear “evil” or “good” side during the court case.