The Woodsman (2004)
Note: Some spoilers.
Although nearly everyone in the
audience knows why Kevin Bacon's character has been
in prison before they walk into the theater, this
film doesn't announce it until a good 30 minutes into
the film. It really doesn't matter though, because
the film is so good, we are easily captivated by what
is going on.
Bacon is excellent and he plays
his anti-hero role with subdued, quiet dignity. We
like this guy and want to root for him. When Kyra
Sedgwick (Bacon's real life wife) comes on the scene,
the film begins to evolve into quite a story and the
chemistry between the two leads is explosive. Watching
Bacon have sex with his female lead, knowing his character
has not only been in prison for 12 years but also
that he is attracted to young girls is quite compelling
and Bacon turns these complex scenes into quite captivating
watching.
Filmmaker Nicole Cassell provides
a excellent lighting, awesome sets and a wonderful
sense of pacing that slowly moves us into the film.
Also of note is the score by Nathan Larson that really
accents the film perfectly. Cassell also procures
an excellent supporting cast including Eve, Mos Def,
Benjamin Bratt and David Alan Grier who add as much
nuance and darkness to the film as Bacon and Sedgwick
do.
But, ultimately, "The Woodsman,"
for all its good intentions, fails miserably. There's
a concurrent storyline here where Bacon's pedophile
watches another of his ilk stalk young boys outside
from his window, (in a horrible contrivance his apartment
is across the street from a elementary school. Right).
Anyway. eventually Cassell, who has up to this point
proved quite a knack for subtlety, uses this tangent
to show Bacon's character's redemption. That's right,
to prove he is cured. Bacon beats a gay pedophile
into a bloody pulp. I am not defending pedophile "predators"
here but I think its ridiculous that Bacon must beat
one up to prove he has changed. He has already proven
this by not molesting a girl who is willing. It's
no accident either that this pedophile is "gay."
I think, perhaps, that in the original
play by Stephen Fetcher that this scene was more of
a "metaphor" where Bacon "wrestles" with his feelings
and "subdues" them. But Cassell, being a female, feels
it necessary to punish some male character for being
a pedophile, so, of course, the gay guy must be abused.
If the film showed this in a more metaphorical, less
realistic way, if we thought perhaps that this was
a artistic vision of Bacon's internal mental struggle
and not a vision of reality, the film would be quite
meritorious. As it stands, it is ham-handed, contrived
and utterly unbelievable. It's a sledgehammer to the
forehead as Cassell doesn't think her audience is
capable of understanding something more subtle.
Bacon and Sedgwick will surely be
remembered at the Indie Spirit Awards and definitely
deserve to be remembered at the Oscars. It's just
a shame that this film was lensed by a woman with
no sense of artistic representation, a woman who insist
that her villain must be physically punished in order
to prove her hero's redemption.
Notes:
Also with newcomer Hannah Pilkes
who is amazing as one of Bacon's intended victims.
The screenplay won the top award
at the 2001 Slamdance competition.
The film played Sundance and Cannes
this year and is scheduled to begin a run in L.A.
at Christmas in order to qualify for Academy Award
consideration. The film has been picked up by Newmarket.
Viewed in October 2004 as a part
of the Austin Film Festival at the Paramount Theater.
