Robert Benton

The Profile

Robert Benton is an American film director and screenwriter known for intimate dramas and elegant noirs. He won three Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Kramer vs. Kramer, and Best Original Screenplay for Places in the Heart.

Born in 1932 in Texas, Robert Benton co-wrote Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and directed Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Places in the Heart (1984), Nobody's Fool (1994), and Twilight (1998). He has won 3 Academy Awards: Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (Kramer vs. Kramer), and Best Original Screenplay (Places in the Heart).

Three reviews cover Benton’s range: the heartfelt drama of Kramer vs. Kramer, a Hitchcock-tinged Still of the Night, and the quietly average noir Twilight carried by Paul Newman. Performances and themes—parenthood, suspicion, and late‑career star power—take center stage. Overall tone: warm to measured, with praise peaking for Kramer vs. Kramer.