The Woodsman

Still a film student at NYU, first-time director Nicole Kassell selected an ambitious, harrowing drama for her feature debut. The Woodsman captures the struggle of a convicted pedophile upon his return to society after more than a decade in prison. It’s not exactly the stuff of a feel-good Hollywood blockbuster. But Kassell’s introspective script, full of unexpected nuance, won the 2001 Slamdance Screenplay Competition and caught the attention of Hollywood. Kevin Bacon signed on as producer and protagonist.

Adapted from an off-Broadway play by Steven Fechter, the film is an unflinching portrayal of a man who must confront his demons in an unwelcoming society. Recently paroled, Walter moves into an apartment across from an elementary school and takes a job at a lumberyard where he builds an unlikely relationship with Vickie (Bacon’s wife Kyra Sedgwick). His estranged sister, a suspicious co-worker (Eve) and an embittered detective (Mos Def) deliver constant reminders that he doesn’t deserve a second chance.

After watching the theatrical production, Kassell was determined to translate the hard-hitting story to the screen. “Seeing this character that I, like most other people, have learned to view as a pure monster and learning to see him as a complex human being was really profound,” she says. “I felt sympathy for somebody I didn’t want to feel sympathy for.”

To dispel myths and become educated on sexual abuse, Kassell conducted dozens of interviews with victims and their families, as well as perpetrators and their families—often an upsetting experience. “I would find out what [the offenders] had done and you want to vomit,” she says. “That’s why most people just want them to be locked away forever.”

But Kassell wanted to break taboos and shed light on a complex issue traditionally cloaked in silence. “There’s a vicious cycle,” she says. “I understand why it’s one of the hardest things to discuss—from either the victim or the offender’s side. [But] secrecy never breeds anything good.”

With a well-trained eye and minimalist sensibilities, Kassell deftly navigates a world with undefined boundaries, where good and evil aren’t easy to pigeonhole. Kevin Bacon’s gut-wrenching performance as a deeply tormented soul is a testament to the actor’s impressive range and the director’s raw ingenuity. Kassell explains that Bacon was a natural choice, bringing an inherent likeability to the part. She notes, “We were walking a tightrope between making him too sympathetic and too much a villain.”

Never heavy-handed, the provocative, emotionally revealing film raises tough questions. “The fact that he’s trying to change, my heart does go out to him,” notes Kassell. “Can somebody change and do we believe in the potential to change?”