Un crimen inconfesable

I saw this movie at the Vancouver Film Festival. Not only was it one of the best movies I saw at the fest, but one of the best of the year. I truly believed it to be Bacon's career performance.

The script is solid, full of great dialogue and thick symbolism. The characters all fully developed and never one-sided. Each has their dark side. A commendable effort to Emmy winner, Mos Def, who makes us hate him when he's a good cop, and love him when he's a bad one.

The reason the rating is so low is because it's hard to accept a character that is a child molester. Probably because everyone knows someone or is someone who has been sexually abused. This is a film about redemption and forgiveness--something we can all definitely agree with. It is also a story about humanity--something we all have in common.

Greetings again from the darkness. Although I am a self-proclaimed Kevin Bacon hater, let me stand up and shout that this is not only his best ever performance (by far) but also a performance that will stand up against most any dramatic turn by any actor. For the first time, Bacon is understated rather than overacting and hamming. The film and Bacon capture the emotional torment of a recently released from prison child molester as he struggles to fit in and "be normal". Bacon's remarkable acting is extremely well supported by (his real life wife) Kyra Sedgwick, Mos Def, Benjamin Bratt and a most surprising Eve. Bacon's eyes are truly haunting and we feel his pain as he struggles to find a bit of joy amidst his demons. Two weak script features were the rapidness of Sedgwick's character's acceptance of Bacon and the over the top scene in the park with young Robin. Otherwise, the realism was gritty and believable. Not one I want to see again, but the creepiness and edginess make it worth seeing.

I know this is a controversial subject and will most likely not earn Kevin Bacon - or at least the movie makers - any good points with a lot of people, but I urge people to keep an open mind.

Walter - Kevin Bacon - is released after 12 years in prison for child molestation. He is trying to get back on track when he meets Vickie - Kyra Sedgwick - who makes him feel a bit better about himself. The movie portrays Walter's struggle with his past, his crime and his new life.

The characters and the crime are not romanticized. The movie can even a bit abrasive as it drills down to the truth and shows you the things just as they are.

I think it takes guts to portray a controversial subject like this one and I certainly think it takes guts to play a role like Walter's. Excellent performances by Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick and Mos Def.

An intelligent and thought-provoking film that never flinches from it's subject matter, and includes a superb performance from it's leading man. Kassell's film manages to steer clear of didacticism and lays the misunderstandings and prejudices about, and ignorance of, paedophilia open for the audience to interpret in their own way. The protagonist is neither a sympathetic hero or a villain, but during the course of the film he wavers between the two leaving the audience both supportive and sickened. This amalgam of conflicting emotions makes 'The Woodsman' essential viewing for a rational, adult audience. I only wonder how an audience would react to a paedophile played by an unknown actor without Bacon's profile, as I suspect many people would find it harder to accept without his charisma or celebrity attached to the film.

This is a somewhat slow (never boring) film with several performances of the highest quality. Kyra Sedgwick has amazing scenes, and one in particular flipped around my perception of every other character's motivation. David Alan Grier's performance is, maybe for the first time, not over the top. Hannah Pilkes, in her first film, nearly steals the scene from Kevin Bacon. Eve and Benjamin Bratt both do a good job. Mos Def's lines are either beyond his range or the lines themselves are just too heavy-handed, but Kevin plays off of them in brilliant silence.

Kevin Bacon's performance is Oscar-worthy. In other films, weak effects, poor acting, awful dialog, etc., have pulled me out of the world that the film was attempting to create. Kevin's performance is so good that at one time I found myself pulled out of the experience in awe; while continuing to believe the truth of the character, I was at the same time floored by Kevin's ability to deliver such depth.

Sure, the subject matter allows actors to express strong feeling. Anger is an easy route, as is self-loathing. This script has some of that, but what makes this film great is that primarily it chooses to explore shame and the struggle to be normal. The actors (Bacon, Kira, Pilkes) that are given the opportunity to explore that, they really excel in this film.