Hoffman's work life and other concerns are sketched so lightly, that beyond the top three or four names in the cast, other faces barely have time to make their statements and move on. A young JoBeth Williams has a memorable moment in the hallway with Justin; veteran Howard Duff's role as the defense lawyer has been pared down to a minimum. Best friend Jane Alexander has a much larger presence, but drops out of the film just before the home stretch. Yet the movie never feels hemmed-in or minimalist. For the Emergency Room scene, which consists of just a couple of tracking shots following a running Hoffman, several blocks of traffic right off of Central Park had to be shut down.
Meryl Streep's career was already going into orbit after her television debut in the Holocaust miniseries; she shot her scenes for Kramer vs. Kramer while simultaneously working on Manhattan for Woody Allen. The Joanna Kramer part is a particularly tough one. Audiences could be expected to root so fervently for Ted the husband, that it's practically impossible to generate sympathy for the mother who abandons her child. Streep projects innate decency and restraint - at the beginning she's so remorseful, we cannot help but forgive her even as she's walking out the door. Hoffman helps her during this episode by accentuating his boorish self-centeredness.
Kramer vs. Kramer made it very clear for a generation of selfish baby boomers that the responsibility of raising kids isn't something to be taken lightly. Little Billy has feelings, an ego, a desire to be special, and even the vain Ted soon learns the depth and satisfaction to be had from relating to a child who depends on nobody but you for practically everything. Ted Kramer also puts his child's welfare first,
