Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) puts his career first and neglects his wife Joanna (Meryl Streep) and son (Justin Henry). When Joanna walks out, Ted is left to juggle his job with the demands of parenting. And just as he seems to be getting the hang of the latter, a custody battle begins. 

It’s a powerful drama. To the credit of director Robert Benton, it’s not really about the end of a marriage. It’s more about the parent–child relationship and how that is affected by a divorce. 

Hoffman is his usual mannered, nervy persona with little self-awareness. You can see hints of his autistic Rain Man character in all his roles and this one is no exception. Streep's character is undeveloped – the main flaw of the film. It would have been good to see more of it from her point of view, but she's denied much screen time, which limits her character development.