The Woodsman (2004)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Definitely a movie that will get you thinking and pondering, as a convicted child moleseter, who has served his prison time, tries to start life anew, suffering the gamut of emotions and sensations. Kevin Bacon turns in a star performance in this very difficult role of a pedophile, a role that calls for many subtle displays of feeling, proper acting talent! Superbly done. All aspects of this picture click together so well, to produce a solid, valuable film. This is a real cinematic success, rarely seen these days, harks back to the 50s and 60s when sensitive themes were often tackled head-on by the studios, and not always with success. 2004's "The Woodsman" deserves a strong 8/10, almost 9/10.

When it was first released in 2004 "The Woodsman" was a highly controversial film because it offers a relatively sympathetic portrayal of a convicted child molester. When I say that the portrayal was "sympathetic" I do not mean that the film attempts to excuse or justify paedophilia. I mean that the main character, despite his crimes, is not depicted as a "monster" but as a human being with feelings and emotions of his own and, moreover, as a human being who is capable of redemption.That main character, Walter, returns home to Philadelphia after serving 12 years in prison for sexual offences against young girls. He gets a job at a local timber mill (hence the film's title). The film explores how Walter attempts to rebuild his life with the aid of his co-worker and girlfriend Vicki, who opts to remain with him even after she learns about his offences, and his brother-in-law Carlos, the only member of his family who stood by him after his conviction. The authorities do not seem to be a lot of help to him; his probation officer, for example, does not seem concerned that he lives in a flat overlooking a primary school and he is constantly pestered by a police officer named Lucas who quite clearly hopes to catch Walter reoffending.Special praise is due to Kevin Bacon for his sensitive and well-judged performance in the leading role; he makes us realise that Walter is human, and yet we are never allowed to forget the seriousness of what he has done, even if Walter himself would at times prefer to forget it. There are also excellent performances from Kyra Sedgwick as Vicki and from Hannah Pilkes as Robin, a young girl whom Walter meets in the local park.Because of its subject-matter the film had only a very limited cinematic release in both America and Britain. It was a brave move on the part of the film-makers to tackle a subject as controversial as this, but I think that their courage paid off. "The Woodsman" is not a great film; the plot is not always easy to follow and the dialogue is at times difficult to hear. It does, however, make an important contribution to the debate around the moral question of how society should deal with those who suffer from a compulsion to commit acts which others find abhorrent. 6/10

Modern society is being engineered to embrace behaviors and lifestyles that were in the shadows in the same esteem as man-woman-children families that are the heart of any healthy society.God help the viewers of romanticized filth if they dare to speak truth, the will be condemned by the PC police who celebrate abortion and condemn traditional families as being insensitive.The best movies to watch are The 9th Gate and Eyes Wide Shut if you want to learn about how the elites program humans for their gradual enslavement....you can't enslave humans....you have to turn them into beasts first...same as war must dehumanize enemies you are supposed to hate and kill.

I think this film does broaden understanding of the extremely difficult issue of pedophilia.The story is extremely well told. Kevin Bacon is superb as the main character, Walter, a man with a pedophile past who has come out of prison and is trying to get his life together.The plot has some unexpected turns and is surprisingly neatly tied up at the end.This film respects its audience, we are never spoon fed the storyline or told how to respond to the characters.The world the characters inhabit is very real.Walter's struggle with his sexual desire is a little like a drug addition. There is a point in the film where things are going very badly for Walter and it is then that he is tempted towards starting to "groom" an underage girl. At this point in the film there is a great emotional understanding of what it is like to suffer as Walter does from this terrible problem that he has.The rather clever plot makes unexpected use of the nature of each character in the film. There is no clear division of good persons or bad persons, rather we find that the good or bad can reveal itself depending on circumstances.