Film: The Woodsman
Authors: Piyal Sen
Journal: BMJ (2005)

It is rare to come across a film that treats a serious topic with adequate sensitivity and draws the right balance between realism and compassion. The Woodsman falls into this category, dealing with the emotionally charged issue of paedophilia.

Walter, the principal protagonist (played by Kevin Bacon), is a convicted paedophile, released on supervised parole. Rather surprisingly, he is housed in an apartment directly across the road from an elementary school. He finds work as a carpenter and meets Vickie (Kyra Sedgwick), a fellow worker, herself a victim of incestuous abuse. An intimate relationship develops and Walter is forced to tell her about his past. He uses the classic paedophilic rationalisation of not having harmed his victims, who were 10 to 11 year old girls.​girls.




Figure 1



Kevin Bacon as the convicted paedophile Walter




In the sessions with his supervising therapist, he links the origins of his perversion to his early sexual exposure to his younger sister. The sister is unable to forgive him but he remains on friendly terms with her husband, Carlos (Benjamin Bratt). However, Carlos's fascination with his own daughter leads Walter to suspect the worst about him.

Walter's identity is ultimately revealed at work by a prying secretary, and he is victimised by some of his fellow workers, though his boss comes to his rescue. Feeling lonely and rejected by society, he visits a park and meets a young girl called Robin (Hannah Pilkes), whom he had seen previously. His encounter with her is probably the best sequence of the film. He issues a sexual invitation to her, only to learn that his would-be victim has been the target of similar advances from her father. Somehow, this brings him back to his senses, and on his way home he launches a vicious attack on another paedophile he has watched in action outside the school opposite his house. That act of violence symbolises his final rejection of his paedophilic identity and a desire to move on with his life.

In the final scene, under the watchful eyes of his girlfriend, Vickie, his passport to normality, he attempts to make up with his sister. It is not easy but represents a positive milestone on the long road to recovery.

There is a raging debate within psychiatry about the treatability of paedophiles. However, the need for long term treatment and supervision for this group is widely accepted. A relapse is particularly common at times of high stress. Treatment is aimed at managing the risks, not curing the condition. This film illustrates this point beautifully. Walter's repeated nightmares also make the point about how offenders can be traumatised by their own offences.

On the flip side, paedophiles find it notoriously difficult to develop adult relationships, but Walter goes to bed with Vickie following their first date, which appears unrealistic. The film also offers rather a weak aetiological explanation for Walter's paedophilia. However, these are minor aberrations in an otherwise brave film that goes further than any other in tackling a relatively taboo area. UK tabloid editors could learn a few lessons from it.