Can forgiveness be found in a fairy tale? JOHN SPRY investigates The Woodsman – the story of a sex offender's attempts to regain a sense of 'self' – in search of answers.


A MAN sits alone, looking from a window, pausing as he struggles with feelings of guilt, doubt and forgiveness. Reconciling these three human emotions is at the center of writer/director Nicole Kassell's debut feature The Woodsman: a film about a sex offender's attempts to regain a sense of 'self' in his own, and in the eyes of others. It's a dark fairytale involving aspects of humanity and inner turmoil rarely seen, all of which (including possible physical acts) are explored, and ultimately gnaw at the soul of the film's central character.

Walter (Kevin Bacon), who has spent the last 12 years of his life incarcerated, is now attempting to recommence life in a changed world to the one he knew and was made to leave behind. He has a new job, the (supposed) promise of fair treatment by his supervisor and workmates, as well as a new apartment, which includes a spacious view of a local school. This last detail is most disturbing to visitors of Walter's new home (as well as the viewer), particularly when it is learnt that Walter's victims have been young girls. Like James Stewart's character in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, Walter is almost forced to view (or become a voyeur of) the activity outside in the 'world'. Similarly, he too seems to catch a criminal, although like Grace Kelly, we do not initially believe the story.

Our first glimpse of Walter is on a release/probation sheet, and from this it's revealed that he is a 45-year-old ex-convict now released back into society. The film shifts to Walter's new workplace, and on his first day is advised that, "You be here on time, do your work, I don't want any kind of problem" by his new boss, Bob (David Alan Grier, a cameo played low-key, giving us a peek into the dramatic world rarely seen by this fine actor) at a lumberyard. Walter stays to himself at work and at home, until three new characters are introduced: Vicki (Kyra Sedgwick), a prospective love interest; Sergeant Lucas (Mos Def), a local cop; and brother-in-law Carlos (Benjamin Bratt), the only familiar face he recognizes from his former life.

From the few meetings Walter has with this trio, it's clear they're all disturbed at the location of his new residence. Each displays the same immediately reaction, referring to the noise that it must sustain (although much of the noise occurs in Walters's absence), alluding of course to Walter's motives for choosing to live in such a place. Towards the backend of the film, it is revealed that Walter keeps a less-predatory view of the school, and in fact begins to maintain a patrolling eye of it, especially when the menace of 'Candy' is introduced. At one point however, we're shown Walter counting paces to the school – a hint of temptation or something more insidious?

The Woodsman contains imagery linking the concepts of identity, forgiveness and temptation directly to the human emotions of regret, guilt, love and hate. This is carried out through the plot and narrative, but more specifically with the images that are onscreen, as well as through performance. The main reoccurring visual motif is birds (in various forms such as names, metaphors and also literally), and what they mean to the characters within the film. Almost from the outset, we see birds in the playground, and the first explicit image of a bird occurs when Walter fills a feeder he has hanging outside the window that he uses to observe school children from (and 'Candy'). The most pointed segment sees Walter follow a young girl, Robin, from a local bus to a park. Robin's hobby is bird watching, and a conversation ensues regarding a group of birds that Robin describes as filthy. Additionally, we see a flock of birds fly away as Walter answers a final question from his analyst, admitting, "I feel ok."

The title of the film, as hinted by Sergeant Lucas, is a reference to "Little Red Riding Hood", and is also imparted throughout the film via certain imagery: the imaginary red ball that Walter sees when investigating the nearby school; the way Walter 'rescues' Robin from her father; the fact that Walter disguises himself as a ornithologist during his initial contact with Robin.

In terms of forgiveness and guilt, the film addresses this through the characters of Vicki, Carlos and Sergeant Lucas. Specifically through Walter though, one scene in particular sees him confront 'Candy' who has just returned a young boy to the corner where he lives. Here, we witness Walter savagely attacking 'Candy' and beating him uncontrollably. During this beating the figure of 'Candy' changes to Walter for a brief moment, and it is in this that we see how Walter may view himself, and perhaps his real feelings towards himself and his crimes. In the same position did someone do the same thing to Walter, or is this what he thinks should be happening to him, now and in the future?

Directed and co-written by newcomer Nicole Kassell, her first time effort displays a directorial style conducive to dramas with a delicate subject matter. A superb cast goes a long way to ensuring the quality of a film, and this is no exception with the performances of Kevin Bacon and Mos Def being standouts amongst the ensemble. Bacon inhabits a character with respect and dignity who in his own internal process feels as if he is literally going mad, while Mos Def gives yet another underrated performance in a pivotal role that is representative of how the general public would respond to the crime Walter has committed.

In co-writing the screenplay, Steven Fechter is able to integrate complex dialogue into the visual medium that is film. Lee Daniels, whose previous major credit was Monsters Ball, produces, and both his current and previous films are able to serve as kindred texts through the exploration of tensions involved in any community throughout the world. Indeed, with recent current affairs stories in New Zealand, The Woodsman is a timely lesson in what people on the inside and outside of a situation feel, think, and the way justifications can be made by themselves and others in seemingly untenable circumstances. A pedophile is looked on in revulsion and disgust; a reformed pedophile is believed to be an impossibility by most. This film may not change this attitude, but at least gives a clue as to the color of grass on the other side of the fence.