The most overated film of the year. Nothing goes anywhere, and silence is misunderstood for profundity. Bacon is fine, but there is nothing here.

I'm a proponent of capital punishment for certain crimes, and yet Tim Robbins' Dead Man Walking and Patty Jenkins' Monster caused me to rethink my views...at least for the two hours each I spent in the theater watching them. Nicole Kassell's The Woodsman attempts to get us to look at a paroled child molester (Kevin Bacon) with more understanding eyes, but despite unassailably good work by Bacon and by Kyra Sedgwick as his girlfriend who learns his secret early on but still likes him because...well, because she likes him, it doesn't work nearly as successfully. (This is surprising because Kassell has a comparatively easier task than Robbins or Jenkins; Bacon never killed anyone; most of us are aware of other cultures, past and present, in which sex with underage partners isn't condemned; and the Motion Picture Academy even forgave Roman Polanski and gave him an Oscar a couple of years ago!) For one thing, the movie is agonizingly slow paced; i mean, if you took out all the m-e-a-n-i-n-g-f-u-l p-a-u-s-e-s and maybe had Robert Altman or Howard Hawks orchestrate the dialogue, you'd end up with a film about half the length of a Seinfeld episode! Yes, I know this is deliberate, and that in scenes such as Bacon's temptation-wrought bus rides (featuring the heartwrenching Hannah Pilkes, a young actress who gives the film's best performance) the timing is meant to communicate the fact that Bacon's obsessions will haunt him forever, and that every minute of temptation seems to him like an eternity--but the problem is that the entire film moves at the exact same crawl! A more serious handicap is that Kassell and coscreenwriter Steven Fechter (adapting his play) aren't, shall we say, 100% honest about the protagonist, or to the audience. Dead Man Walking and Monster worked because the filmmakers' sympathy for their murderers didn't prevent them from showing their crimes in unflinching detail...and no, I'm most definitely NOT suggesting that The Woodsman include a flashback sequence showing Bacon doing what got him put away for 12 years! However, there's a fine line between explaining Bacon's behavior and excusing it--and a film that attempts to minimize it by spending time discussing his questionable sleeping arrangements with his sister, or including a monologue by his sleazy brother-in-law (Benjamin Bratt) about how he'd love to get some action with anyone in sight while the wife's away, or otherwise implying that EVERYBODY is sexually out of kilter in one way or another, without maybe a corresponding speech about how Bacon's actions psychologically impaired one of his victims, is a film that too often crosses the wrong side of the line. Then again, The Woodsman is fatally hampered from the get-go by its use of the incredibly contrived plot gimmick of having Bacon's only possible choice of living quarters be ACROSS THE STREET FROM AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL so he can look out the window and artificially amp up the drama. No doubt that a person in Bacon's position has paid his debt and deserves a (very closely monitored) second chance, but as far as Kassell's and Fechter's presentation of their point of view is concerned, I get it, but I see right through it...and so I don't buy it.… Expand

Beautifully restrained. Some of the best performances I have seen from American actors.

If you like the woodsman, you'll be tickled to death over a film called the aviator. It is just as slow and as boring, but has the added bonus of being twice as long!!!! whopeee!!!

This is one of the more overrated films of 2004 and features one of that year's most overrated performances. Its plot has more contrived elements than it should, and its title is pretentious .

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.

Serious subject matter done realistically is not enough to make an engrossing movie. And a moving turning point late is not worth the wait.

Gives a completely new meaning to the word BORING. A nonsensical examination of a reformed pedaphile that is lifeless and silled with pretension. It is amazing that the reviews are respectable.

An excellent drama that takes you into the life of the character. Kevin Bacon does a great job. The pace of the movie is right, the charaters are believable and the movie is certainly worth watching.

I would have given The Woodsman an 8 or 9, but I believe the courage it takes to take on this kind of issue merits it the extra points. Though The Woodsman is painful to watch, it is the kind of pain that needs to be felt so that pedophilia can be understood both with compassion and justice for everyone involved. It shows the crime of children who suffer horrible pain due to the abuse of trust of an adult. However, very few people even think of pedophiles as people anymore after they have committed their crimes, and this film also shows the torment and humanity of those people who struggle with themselves, their desires to stop, and the effects their actions have on those around them. A brave and needed film.… Expand

An excellent movie that realistically captures the daily struggles of a sex offender trying to manage life on the outside. Yes, the balance of irreprehensible behavior and this character's humanity is portrayed beautifully. Bacon is stellar. It was a movie that I left wanting more.

A loook at the most detested people in society...Bacon is perfect as the sick pedaphile trying to become "normal" with little support.

The performances are mesmerizing. not just Bacon, who delivers the best performance of his career, but Sedgwick, Bratt, little Hanna Pikes and especially Mos Def. a brave, unique film.

Kevin Bacon IS this movie. His performance is perfectly controlled, so direct yet oblique, so complex and involving. Hence, fully human. This is certainly Bacon's finest performance to date. Right from the first frame, Kassel pulls you into this engrossing, involving universe that Walter occupies perfectly. By using a droning, almost classical-industrial sounding music in almost every scene and shooting Walter often from a distance and at work, we really get a sense of a sad life. Kassel beautifully captures the feeling of working at a drab, boring job in a small town, and we really feel like we're there, living in Walter's mind. Overall a very effective psychological drama that also feautres the scariest and most devastating scene of the year, where Walter confronts a young bird watcher in the park and we see him as he was before his "change".… Expand

Awful. Lead character is irredeemable. Presents the world as if 85% of everyone is either a molestor and or a molested. Ridiculous all around. Grim. Boring. Squeemish.

An excellent character study. Not a false note in the whole film. One of the best English speaking dramas of the decade.

Disturbing, but an education. Not an easy movie to watch, but excellent performances from the cast, particularly Kevin Bacon. Great directing. When you're up to it, well worth a watch.

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.

Stunning and understated look at a very difficult subject matter. Don't be put off by its theme. Its study of humanity at its least understandable behavior make it unique in more ways than one.

A courageous film that will surprise you. Kevin Bacon is wonderful.

"The Woodsman" earned an "R"-rating from the MPAA, which you would expect for a film about pedophilia. But to my surprise, if you were to excise Kyra Sedgwick's left boob from a semi-vigorous lovemaking scene with her real-life husband, this film might've slided by with a "PG-13" rating. What Richard Masur asks of Dana Hill in "Fallen Angel" is much more sinister and creepy than the dynamics between predator and prey in this instance, you would think "The Woodsman" was the film-made-for-television. My point being, it would've been interesting to see if Bacon could remain sympathetic if; for example, he had a computer and utilized the darker side of Google. Independent film is supposed to push the envelope and reveal truth, right? The film needs to dare us. "I dare you to like Walter after he's done this...and this...AND THIS!!!" "The Woodsman" is to "Happiness", as "Thirteen" is to "Kids"; two movies that never pervades our comfort zones with the feeling of dread and revulsion as did their predecessors. "The Woodsman" is more successful in the way it handles the debate surrounding a sex offender's right to privacy. If that red rubber ball is intended to be Walter's testicle during the moment of arousal, "The Woodsman", in my book, deserves one more "Meta-point".… Expand

The basic story is already well stated. So, I humbly will attempt to advance my reasons for my 10: Kenin Bacon is brilliant: he mangages to convey not only the torturous and conflicting emotions of a pedaphile but, in a riveting and more universal display of soulful reflection and anguish, the often brutally conflicting emotions of any "psychological outsider": be they a sexual "deviant"; obsessive neurotic; or, simply, any person who has overwhelming feelings or desires that are in conflict with the "norm" (and in today's political atmosphere, this is a lot of people; thus, I found the film all the more powerful and praiseworthy: thank you to Kevin Bacon and all involved with the film for taking the time to make such a masterpeice knowing it would be seen be only a very limited audience). I was hoping when I searched "MetaCritic" to see a 100. Obviously, I was quite stirred when I saw no less than Richard Schickel give the 100 (if you have not read it, his book on Brando is quite qood reading). The film moved me for several days. Bacon's portrayel is a truly remarkable display of the human condition: or of anyone who has ever had to struggle with any sin and, especially, with the possibility that they might commit it again. The film thus clearly transcends the plight of the pedaphile on a journey of repetance. As a character study, it reviles, if not exceeds, DeNiro's acting in "Taxi Drive". I was saddened to see, as I see increasingly more often even among "professional" critics, that the film was too long or too boring. Sad indeed: it seems more and more that, if no explosions or fake violence, not much interest. Very sad. But, no surprise, again, given how this country has decided to elect its leaders in recent years. In anticipation (and more since I have seen the other reviews) of attacks on the film that it is simply emotional manipulation to feel sympathy for the pedaphile, I say no. Kevin Bacon's performance seems clearly calculated to counter any emotional tugging: he is not a particularly agreeable person, even to Kyra (who tries extremely hard to help him; wish I had such support in my life). You could not blame her for just letting him rot. However, does every tale of attempted redemption have to end in sorrow? As "The Woodsman" shows, not necessarily. The hope that the film leaves lingering is cause for all of us to renew any challenge we have made to confront and beat our demons. I wish all the Walters (Kevin Bacon) in the world success in their battles.… Expand