A workaholic New York advertising executive suddenly has to raise his young son alone after his wife leaves. Then she comes back and seeks custody. Robert Benton's film takes the breakup of a modern American family and turns it into an intimate, closely observed and devastating portrait of adults learning to love.
Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 drama film directed by Robert Benton. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 cinematography and 2 narrative), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple uses several of the same techniques.
Holding a close-up on an actor's face long enough to catch tiny changes in expression. You read what the character is thinking from details a wider shot would miss.
How this film uses it
Benton frames Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep in intimate close-ups. They catch the exact moment when composure fails. The acting is in the tiniest movements of the face.
Where to see it
Joanna's courtroom testimony. The camera holds on Streep's face as she explains why she left her child.
Using a handheld camera in tight indoor spaces like apartments, offices and hallways. Private arguments feel witnessed as they happen, and nothing looks staged for an audience.
How this film uses it
Nestor Almendros shoots the Kramer apartment from close up, watchful and unhurried. The camera is there in the kitchen, the bedroom and at the breakfast table, and you believe these are real rooms.
Where to see it
Ted and Billy's morning French toast routine. The camera follows their tentative ritual as father and son learn each other's rhythms.
Switching to a clearly different look and mood from one part to the next, either between chapters of 1 film or between a film and its sequel.
How this film uses it
The film starts as domestic farce (the French toast disasters, Ted's panic at single parenthood). It moves through tender growth and ends in a devastating legal battle. Each mood is earned by the one before it.
Where to see it
Joanna's reappearance. The tone turns here. The comedy of Ted's new competence runs into the tragedy of her return.
Staging a trial as a performance, with testimony and cross-examination played like theater. The rules can bring out the truth, or they can hide a verdict that was decided in advance.
How this film uses it
The custody trial turns each parent's story into a competing version of events. You have to judge the same facts from 2 opposing moral positions, and the film doesn't declare a winner.
Where to see it
Ted taking the stand. He says he has proven he can parent as well as Joanna and that taking Billy away could cause irreparable harm. In the courtroom, private life becomes a public argument.
Questions
Kramer vs. Kramer: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Kramer vs. Kramer use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979): Deliberate Close-Up Performance, Domestic Handheld Witness, Tonal Succession and Legal Theater.
Who directed Kramer vs. Kramer?
Robert Benton directed Kramer vs. Kramer, released in 1979. CineCode also covers The Human Stain (2003).
What films are similar to Kramer vs. Kramer?
Films that share techniques with Kramer vs. Kramer include 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026), A Separation (2011), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Moonlight (2016).
