ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies.

CHILD ABUSE is an issue that demands the most delicate of handling. First time director Nicole Kassell treats the subject with restraint and sensitivity in the sombre story The Woodsman. The focus here is on the abuser rather than the victim as a convicted paedophile is released back into the community and struggles to pick up the pieces of his shattered life.
  
An economical story, The Woodsman is not intent on creating sympathy for the devil. Walter Rossworth (Kevin Bacon) has served twelve years for molesting young girls and is as horrified by his crimes as the rest of society. Instead, it tries to provide us with a sense of a man trapped by his unacceptable desires and terrified that he may not be able to live a good life.

Returning to his home town, Rossworth finds a job and settles into a house that is located opposite a school. Isolated within the community, his few contacts are with brother-in-law Carlos (Benjamin Bratt) and world weary detective Lucas (Mos Def) but eventually he embarks on a relationship with his feisty work colleague Vicki (Bacon’s real-life wife Kyra Sedgwick).
  
Although quite muted in its approach, the film goes out of its way to create an empathy for Walter. His eagle eye spots sleazy paedophile Candy (Kevin Rice) hanging around the school gates and there is a sense in which Walter regards himself as the more acceptable child abuser, as if such a thing could exist.
  
Bacon’s subtle, anguished performance is the lynchpin of the film as he invests his character with a touching humanity. Like its lead actor, The Woodsman refuses to indulge in sensationalism and emerges as a thought-provoking drama.

THE WOODSMAN
General release, selected cinemas
Director: Nicole Kassell
Writers: Nicole Kassell and Steven Fechter
Stars: Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Benjamin Bratt, Mos Def, Kevin Rice.
Certificate: 15
Running time: 87 mins
Country: USA
Year: 2004
 

© Allan Hunter, 2005