For decades, Kevin Bacon has enjoyed a fascinating career transformation beyond his “Six Degrees” meme. The once-baby-faced young actor who dazzled audiences with his impressive dance moves in Footloose took a sharp turn to incredibly dark, often intense performances in Sleepers, Death Sentence, and X-Men: First Class. Out of all the characters exploring the dark side of humanity he embodied on screen, Bacon’s role as a reformed child predator in The Woodsman was the biggest swing in his career.
The Lee Daniels production, based on Steven Fecher’s stage play, is treated as a multilayered character study of a man struggling to stay on the straight and narrow years after his conviction for heinous acts. In this case, Bacon’s Walter struggles to escape his deeply disturbing past as a child predator. It’s a risky role that’s often been played sinisterly in other movies, especially with Bacon’s juvenile prison guard in Sleepers. However, Bacon’s Where the Truth Lies co-star Colin Firth praised the actor for tackling such a controversial subject because, rather than sensationalize Walter, he puts a human face on deeply disturbed individuals in society fighting an inner urge to harm a child.
‘The Woodsman’ Does Not Manipulate Audiences for Sympathy

Walter returns to his hometown of Philadelphia after twelve years in prison for his crimes against children. Abandoned by nearly everyone who knew him, Walter spends his days working at a lumber mill and begins a relationship with his colleague Vicki (Kyra Sedgwick), who learns of his past as they grow closer. As he struggles to reconcile his past through sessions with a psychologist (Michael Shannon), Walter remains under the watch of Philadelphia Police Sergeant Lucas (Yasiin Bey/formerly Mos Def), who believes he will revert to his old ways. Outside the difficulties of living a normal existence, Walter has his eye on both another child predator he nicknames Candy (Kevin Rice) lurking around the neighborhood, and a young birdwatcher named Robin (Hannah Pilkes). The latter creates a temptation in Walter to succumb to his old ways, especially when word gets out at work about his past. Eventually, the urges and the need for redemption collide in one explosive encounter with Candy.

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Bacon’s performance and The Woodsman as a whole under Nicole Kassell’s direction puts the spotlight on the tension of Walter’s temptations and his treatment by others as a societal outcast. There’s no deep backstory to explain the reasons for Walter’s disturbing behavior. The only link to his past is the character’s desire to seek forgiveness through his estranged sister with the help of his brother-in-law Carlos (Benjamin Bratt). Despite Walter’s need to change for the better, The Woodsman does not manipulate the audience into falling in love with him but rather examines his behavior from a clear-eyed perspective that is not so black and white. Even those like Carlos, who allow Walter into their lives, often stop short of fully embracing him out of fear of who he once was.
Kevin Bacon Delivers a Restrained Performance in ‘The Woodsman’

Image via Newmarket Films

The dramatic strength of The Woodsman comes from the casting of Bacon as Walter. The movie avoids intense graphic imagery to highlight the inner tug of war he battles all throughout. There are various scenes of Walter watching and following young girls in public spaces like school grounds and shopping malls, often played visually with minimal dialogue outside the character’s occasional voiceover. Bacon gives the role much subtlety, at times stalking his prey menacingly but then turning away, clearly desperately resisting his urges without overplaying it.
Bacon’s restraint delivers the most powerful moment in The Woodsman in a scene involving Robin. Reaching a low point in the story at which his urge to reoffend is at an all-time high, he meets her in the park. But the restrained urge to harm Robin twists into a truly intimate, yet heartbreaking moment when the innocent birdwatcher makes a revelation about her home life that causes Walter to stop altogether. The hug they share at the end is one of the most heartbreaking scenes that Bacon has ever done on film, because his cold, broken expression is a symbol of empathy for his victims and the people in his life who once had a love for him.
The Woodsman walks a fine line between the need to outcast a child predator and to understand their behavior. Bacon makes his character someone who can exist in someone’s everyday life with such complex layers, as Firth alluded to in his praise for the actor’s performance. Ultimately, the movie never answers if Walter can be forgiven for his past. But it does reflect the reality that no addiction can be solved overnight, and that only time and sheer will to be better can determine that.

The Woodsman

Release Date

December 24, 2004

Runtime

87 minutes