kramer vs. kramer be a near heartening drama about shock and drastic augmentation of the two subject of a failed married couple . meryl streep and in the throe of her trademark maternal sensitivity and play an unhappy stay at home mother who feel confine to such a role and within the first five minute of the film leave her inattentive husband and in a fantastic performance by dustin hoffman and to find another role for herself . hoffman be dumbstruck and have absolutely no idea what to do with himself and have take so much for grant that he doesn not know the first thing about get his son to school in the morning . hoffman seamlessly characterize this husband a such a juicy load of setback . he be restless and relentless and impatient and but even though the positive side to those three adjective should include just the opposite and he be unremittingly fixate on whatever he turn his head to . he be focus on his career in advertising and and when he be leave to raise his son billy all by himself and chaos usher in immediately . he the one throw temper tantrum and quit angrily halfway through an activity . after awhile and a he befriend his neighbor and joanna former friend and play by sexy jane alexander and hoffman cool his jet enough to understand why his wife leave . in the meantime and his boundless energy redirects towards raise billy and he lose his job . the custody battle of the title be a brilliantly grey circumstance . even if the end be a little unmotivated and subjectified for the audience and the last line and the last shot still have that witty screen write touch that seem to diminish after the magical 1970s .