Review of The Woodsman (2004) by Michael M — 30 Dec 2007

Kevin Bacon is such an amazing actor. No matter what the guy's role is, whether he's a deranged homosexual plotting John F. Kennedy's assassination in Oliver Stone's controversial 'JFK', a deranged redneck in 'The River Wild ', an astronaut in Ron Howard's 'Apollo 13', a psychopathic murderer in the not-too-well received 'Murder in the First', or most recently, a haunted cop with a troubling past in Clint Eastwood's masterpiece, 'Mystic River', he's astounding. Last year I felt he should have gotten nominated for an Oscar for 'Mystic River', but the Academy are idiots anyway. For a truly excellent performer as Mr. Bacon is, he is so undeservedly underrated. He's never really gotten the acclaim he so desperately deserves, but his startling and frightening turn as the recovering pedophile in Nicole Kassell's 'The Woodsman' is something people are going to be talking about for a long time. This whole film relies on him, and Kevin Bacon really succeeds with flying colors.

The story follows Walter (Bacon) and his release from prison for molesting pre-teen girls. Walter has just spent twelve years of his life locked up, and after he gets released his whole family and all his friends disown him. That is except his sister's husband, Carlos (Benjamin Bratt - Law & Order), who still visits Walter in his apartment when he's on supervised parole. Walter is frustrated because he wants to see his family, and he also struggles to control himself to keep from fondling or molesting children. He doesn't find it too easy when his apartment is right across the street from an elementary school. He tells his therapist, Rosen (Michael Shannon - Pearl Harbor), about this and his difficulty to control himself. Rosen tells him to journal his feelings whenever he looks out his window, instead of acting on his sick impulses. Walter spots another pedophile he refers to as "Candy" , and tries to stop him, in a way of redeeming himself. Walter also gets a job at the local saw mill, since his father's old friend Bob (David Alan Grier - In Living Color) feels he owes it to Walter to employ him. At the saw mill Walter has run-ins with Bob's secretary Mary-Kay (Eve - Barbershop 2) after she finds out about his terrible past, and Walter falls in love with an emotionally damaged co-worker, Vicki (Kyra Sedgewick - Secondhand Lions) who accepts Walter as a human being and not just a monster. A hardened police detective played by rapper Mos Def, who believes Walter to be a waste of life, is also watching Walter constantly. During the course of the film, Walter tries desperately to fight his affliction and become something he always wanted to be - normal.

For as great a film 'The Woodsman' is, it's extremely hard to watch. I was so disturbed by the power of the film, I don't think I could ever bring myself to watch it again. The movie belongs to Kevin Bacon, who gives such a groundbreaking, powerhouse of a performance that goes down as Bacon's best. Kevin Bacon owns the character Walter, and achieves something I thought to be impossible - he makes us feel sympathy for someone is impulsively rapes little kids. If that's not acting at it's finest, I don't know what the hell is. It's an absolute shame Kevin Bacon didn't get an Oscar nomination for this, and I really lost a lot of respect for the Academy, and how cowardly they are for not recognizing him. The supporting cast is fabulous also. Kyra Sedgewick gives a complex and powerful performance as Walter's love interest, and Mos Def gives an even more powerful performance as the police detective tailing Walter, who delivers perhaps the film's most powerful speech relating to pedophilia and Little Red Riding Hood. David Alan Grier is good showing a dramatic side to his usual comic self in the extremely limited screen time he has, and Eve does a mediocre job. Benjamin Bratt is great as usual as Walter's only friend, and newcomer Hannah Pilkes is breathtaking in her scenes with Bacon. Nicole Kassell does a fine job with her directorial debut, although I wasn't too crazy about the pretentious freeze frames in the opening credits. The screenplay is provocative, daring and wonderful.

When it comes down to the needle 'The Woodsman' is a powerful and thought-provoking movie, but it is also as unsettling as it gets. I struggled my way through the short 87-minute runtime, and disturbing movies usually don't get to me. I can only recommend 'The Woodsman' to the strongest of hearts, so if you are easily unsettled rent a romantic comedy instead. If you can handle it, 'The Woodsman' will cause you to reflect on a lot of things you thought you had figured out already. I know I did. Grade: B+.