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The Woodsman
Metascore
72 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 34
  3. Negative: 1 out of 34
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  1. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    100
    It is among the best and most delicately managed films of the year.
  2. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Bill Gallo
    90
    So thoughtful and provocative that we cannot help but become engrossed.
  3. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    88
    It's Bacon who overcomes all obstacles.
  4. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    Bacon is a strong and subtle actor, something that is often said but insufficiently appreciated. Here he employs all of his art.
  5. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    88
    One of the year's best.
  6. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Duane Byrge
    80
    A stunning, difficult film.
  7. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Elias Sevada
    80
    Bacon's performance is so riveting that you no longer see the 46-year-old actor.
  8. Empire
    Reviewed by: Adam Smith
    80
    It's Bacon's astonishing performance that is a quiet, challenging and ultimately discomfortingly human voice.
  9. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Jessica Winter
    80
    An engrossing study of a protagonist who variously inspires pity, clinical interest, fondness, and revulsion-sometimes all at once.
  10. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    80
    The film's core, anchored by a fine ensemble cast and a controlled, focused performance by Bacon, is completely solid.
  11. Slate
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    80
    The Woodsman should be pretty intolerable, but the writing-line by line-is heartfelt and probing, the direction gives the actors room to stretch out, and the performances are miraculous.
  12. Variety
    Reviewed by: David Rooney
    80
    A stunningly crafted work from first-time feature director Nicole Kassell.
  13. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    80
    Bacon's subtle, assured performance keeps us with him every step of the way.
  14. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    80
    Not to be missed, if only for an unforgettable leading performance by Kevin Bacon.
  15. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    75
    What makes The Woodsman meaningful is Bacon's tortured suffering.
  16. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    75
    Kassell has serious talent. The movie is beautifully shot, and the performances are all spot-on. But like many young screenwriters today, she has overwritten her script to the point where everything is simply too tidy for the messy psychological material.
  17. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    75
    Bacon's portrait chills to the bone.
  18. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    Tasteful but not compromised.
  19. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    75
    It takes a confident actor to accept a role like this and to perform it to flawless perfection.
  20. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    75
    The film manages the extraordinary feat of forcing us to empathize simultaneously with both the potential victim and the potential villain.
  21. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    75
    It's a tough movie with a fearless performance by Bacon and brave filmgoers will be rewarded with a bracing experience.
  22. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    70
    Kassell's visual influences are evident -- she's clearly a fan of the down-and-dirty films of the '70s -- but the consistently fine performances smooth over the rough patches.
  23. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    70
    What is more remarkable is that he (Bacon)has found a way, without the slightest hint of vanity or ostentation, to convey the inner life of a man who is almost entirely shut down.
  24. The New Republic
    Reviewed by: Stanley Kauffmann
    70
    Sympathy for a pedophile is difficult, but surely comprehension may be possible, and Bacon evokes it.
  25. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Andrea Gronvall
    70
    Bacon conveys the weight of his character's anguished struggles through his economy of movement, and the powerful, spare script is refreshingly devoid of cant.
  26. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    67
    You can tell that everyone's whole heart is in this project, you just wish that a little more of the heart was conveyed on the screen.
  27. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    67
    Worth seeing for Bacon's lived-in minimalist purgatory, but the movie soft-pedals the nature of the desires he's at war with: the fact that they will never go away.
  28. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: M. E. Russell
    67
    Bacon's mature performance serves a story that's considerably less sophisticated than he is, making The Woodsman less "brave" and more a slightly better-made movie of the week.
  29. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    63
    Melodrama triumphs. But here's at least some muted applause for a fine cast and filmmakers trying to confront the real world and its shadows.
  30. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    63
    An honest, honorable indie chamber drama that, if anything, errs on the side of caution. It benefits from a scrupulously observed performance by Kevin Bacon.
  31. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    63
    In real life, Bacon and Sedgwick are husband and wife. Their scenes mark one of the rare times an off-screen couple's intimacy enriches on-screen passion.
  32. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    60
    While The Woodsman gets the psychological profile right, it fails to make Bacon a man.
  33. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    60
    In a film that's carefully crafted but also airless and overcalculated, Mos Def walks away with every scene he's in because we're never sure what his character is up to, and we're never told.
    All this critic's reviews
  34. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    30
    Overblown melodrama, as muddle-headed as it is palpably sincere.
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User Reviews

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User Score
7.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 37 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 24
  3. Negative: 5 out of 24
  1. RegOz
    10
    An exceptional movie, with exceptional performances! Daring, provocative, challenging, disturbing, intense! Kevin Bacon deserved an Oscar for his work here! but, oh well, we know how Hollywood works! This is a film that discloses the 'dark side' of the story. It is not about exploring the victim's perspective but the perpetrator's inner and outer world. This rises the question? Are all criminals evils? What is the effect that the crime has in the one who commits it? what is guilty? How is it experienced? Is there such a thing as redemption? and if it is, how can that be achieved?. It is not a movie for people with strong, religious morals...to them I wouldn't recommend it, as they may find it offensive and unethical. To me, this is a masterpiece! One of the best movies ever! I applaud it!… Full Review »
  2. JeffM.
    9
    Daring and original. Would rate a "10" if the script hadn't made the mistake of unrealistically populating the neighbourhood with an overabundance of child molesters.… Full Review »
  3. BillC.
    8
    A well done film on a difficult subject manner that was done without any heavy handed leanings. Kevin Bacon was fantastic in the part as was Kira Segswick. Difficult to watch in a few places , but acting don't get any better than this.… Full Review »
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