The Woodsman

2004 - 2/5

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS ALERT***

The first thing I want to say about this movie is that it wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't necessarily a good one either. The movie was well paced (but a bit slow at times) and well put together.

Plot: B
Kevin Bacon's character, Walter is a pedophile that was released from prison after serving a 12-year sentence. He is trying to put his life back together and integrate himself back into society, but the unpleasant nature of his crime doesn't sit well with people he encounters (mainly at his job in a lumber mill). This movie is about the barriers he has to face as an ex-con and his struggle for recovery.

It's obvious that Walter is trying to change and trying to become 'normal,' but at the same time, this movie also brings forth the question of whether society ought to let him do so. The way this movie is presented to the audience allows them to get a glimpse of peoples attitudes regarding pedophiles: the general public (mainly his coworkers), law enforcement (Sgt Lucas), his family (sister and brother in law) and victims (Robin). Even though most people have a preconceived notion that all pedophiles (or criminals in general) are 'bad people,' they usually fail to take into account the circumstances of each particular case; people have a tendency to jump to conclusions and never take the time to be objective.

The plot wasn't very engaging and I wasn't really drawn in. The only part that I felt on edge was during the scene (near the end) that Walter follows Robin down the trail and I was thinking 'how far will he take this?'

The subject matter of this movie shouldn't be taken lightly, so I would like to give credit to the director (Nicole Kassell) for taking on such an uncomfortable topic, as well as presenting it in a way that doesn't minimize or sensationalize the actions of pedophiles; it's not a typical Hollywood flick.

Script: C
The script for this movie could have been something very powerful, but it wasn't as gripping as you'd expect. My favourite line was said during Walter's conversation with his therapist and they were talking about a merry-go-round: "by going in circles we see things we miss the first time around." There were some other good lines that were said by Sgt. Lucas (Lucas: "you don't mind if I look around, would you?" / Walter: "I would" / Lucas: "why? you got something to hide?" /Walter: "doesn't everybody"), but the majority of the dialogue seemed overdone and pretentious.

Acting/Characters: B
Although a lot of reviewer on IMDB stated that Kevin Bacon did a really good job with the character, I wouldn't say he did - I just couldn't get past seeing KB's portrayal of the character Walter, rather than the character itself. Walter isn't a likeable character, but I did pity him. The viewer knows he wants to change and wants to be 'normal' but it's hard to feel any sympathy for him mainly because of what he did.

Vickie (Kyra Sedgwick) had her own emotional baggage (from childhood) and was pretty much as damaged as Walter, and that's why the two characters clicked together very well. The scenes that included the both of them were the most genuine scenes in the entire movie and were the most believable.

Sgt Lucas (Mos Def) was an irritating character that would pop up randomly every now and then. He was overly pushy and extremely judgmental, but then again, that does fit in only because he was in a position of authority. I don't really get why Mos Def is so praised for his role in this movie, but that's probably because I didn't like his character.

Benjamin Bratt was Walter's brother in law (Carlos). He didn't have a huge role in this movie, but he played the part well. It was interesting to see that Walter had a better relationship with his brother in law than his own sister.

I was kind of surprised that Robin (Hannah Pilkes) didn't have a bigger role and I was also hoping there would be another encounter between Walter and Robin, but the movie ended somewhat suddenly, so that didn't happen. I'm not a huge fan of child actors because they have a tendency to fail miserably - I wouldn't say she failed, but her performance was nothing noteworthy.

The only time the audience got to see things from Walter's perspective was when he went to his therapist Rosen (Michael Shannon). The scene that Walter had his eyes closed and opened them and Rosen was behind him and Walter screamed at him saying, "What are you doing back there? I want you back in your chair now" was kind of pathetic and I found myself wanting to laugh; I'm sure that's not the reaction the director wanted the viewer to have, but there was no chemistry between the two so any interaction between those two was cliché, dull and forced.

Eve is a rapper (questionably), and she should have stuck with music. I'm sure there were many more qualified people that could have played the part of a receptionist much better than she did (even though it was a small role).

While looking out his window at the school across the street, Walter notices another pedophile whom he calls 'Candy' because he tries to lure young boys into his car with candy. I can't tell if the director meant to portray this character in such a stereotypical manner, however, I did like the scene that Walter gives a play by play (like a commentator) of 'Candy' trying get a kid to go into his car.

Cinematography: B+ The type of shots used and the dim lighting was very well done (and probably my favourite thing about this movie) - these things added so much to the mood of the movie and the whole notion of isolation. The medium shots used helps the audience recognize how restricted his view of the world was. The dim lighting presented Walter's bleak existence and the enclosed spaces resemble his internal struggle. Although he is free from prison, his freedom is still limited physically and mentally: physically because most of the shots were in his apartment or when he was looking outside his window. And mentally because he is still in his own prison because he doesn't consider himself 'normal' and he can't escape his own thoughts.

I did like the symbolism of Little Red Riding Hood that was tied into the movie. The only bright colour that appeared in the movie was red (the ball and Robin's jacket), which happens to be the colour that depicts danger. I liked the irony regarding Robin's name and her hobby of bird watching and her inability to 'fly away' from being abused by her father, and almost falling prey to Walter.

Soundtrack: N/A
I only remember 2 songs and they both fit well with the scene. Nothing gained, nothing lost.

Overall: B
There is no sense of time and space throughout the entire movie, therefore it felt as if it was all over the place. It was hard to tell how many days or months had passed by (for example, when Walter was trying to meet up with his sister).

The result of having a few of the characters being offenders or victims (Walter/'Candy' and Vickie/Robin) was overly exaggerated (could have been intentional), which made that aspect repetitive and diluted. I felt as if the premise of the movie lost all meaning and turned out ineffective by the end.

There were too many loose ends and many segments of the movie remained underdeveloped. We never really got to know what those random scenes were (a child walking in the woods, and an adult following (?); the red ball that rolled towards Walter next to the fence at the school; the girl in Walters apartment; ect). Were they delusions in Walter's head, or events that had occurred previously? They were left unexplained, and somewhat unnecessary.

Lastly, I liked how it didn't have a typical 'happy ending' because, with this subject matter, there usually isn't a happy ending!