“When will I be normal?”

Sue’s rating: That does it. My kids are grounded until they’re thirty.

Sue’s review: The Woodsman could easily be the most dangerous movie I’ve ever seen.

Starring Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgewick, The Woodsman is a detailed view into the life of a pedophile just released from prison and trying to start his life over. After serving 12 years for molesting two young girls, Walter (Bacon) wants to be a good boy, he really does. He finds an apartment and a job. He goes to counseling and he passively toes the line for the cop/parole officer who stops by to check up on him unannounced. He keeps to himself, but still manages to attract a tough-as-nails girlfriend. It’s not a great life, far from it, but it’s got to be a vast improvement over incarceration.

Despite all of that, the odds are stacked against him. Aside from a cautiously amiable brother-in-law, his family refuses all contact with him. The only apartment building he can find that rents to ex-cons has a bird’s eye view into an elementary school playground. (Conveniently just a few inches to the safe side of his parole conditions.) His co-workers are suspicious of his “secret” past. His parole officer leaves no obscenity unuttered when offering his opinion of Walter’s character — past, present and future. His psychiatric counselor insists that he keep a journal, which, as Walter is quick to point out, could be construed more as evidence than self-discovery.

These problems are all molehills to one significant mountain however. Walter is a pedophile. As much as he wants to be “normal” and as diligently as he tries to avoid temptation, the world is chock full of young girls and he is what he is. He tells anyone who will listen that he’s “not a monster,” but he never once denies that his desires are deviant and wrong.

To confuse the issue, two things happen. First, Walter notices a man hanging around the schoolyard and recognizes the guy’s stalking behavior with all the conviction of been-there/done-that. His feelings are understandably mixed. Does he want to see another kid hurt? No. Does he want to tell the cops that he’s been watching the school? Uhm… no.

Second of all, Walter initiates a conversation with an 11-year-old girl. Yes, this is scary and creepy and repugnant, but it’s hard not to notice how he changes when he’s near her. He smiles, he’s friendly, he’s charming and engaging and… heck, it’s not an act put on to impress her. At that moment, he’s genuinely happy and very comfortable within himself. You realize then just how miserable and repressed he is the rest of the time. What happens? I ain’t tellin’.

Walter is a character you can sympathize with. You can read his pain of isolation, you can note his yearning to be normal, you can understand his despair. You can even acknowledge that pedophilia might be as much mental illness as crime-with-intent, and from there… well, I mean, hey, certainly within my lifetime, homosexuality was considered by some to be both a mental illness and a crime, so maybe-

Remember that I said this was a dangerous movie? This is why.

Before my inbox fills up with hate mail from the GLBT community, please understand that I did not just slam homosexuality and I am emphatically not comparing it to pedophilia. My concern is actually the other way around — that a movie like this, as understated and brilliantly acted as it is, could cause the unwary viewer to not just sympathize with Walter, but maybe to begin to justify his desires; to make comparisons or to consider that pedophilia might just be another (albeit an unfortunate) form of alternative lifestyle. That scares the snot out of me.

I don’t ever want to justify pedophilia. What goes on between consenting adults of any gender is perfectly fine with me. What goes on in the confines of one’s own head is… okay, maybe twisted, but none of my business as long as it stays firmly entrenched in the gray matter. Touch my kid, your kid, any kid, and I’m going to pick up my good friend Mr. Crowbar and hit you three ways: hard, fast, and continuously. This is hardwired into my Mommy system and it is non-negotiable.

However, the fact that I consider The Woodsman to be arguably dangerous, doesn’t mean that I think it’s an altogether bad movie. Actually, it’s a very fine movie indeed. There’s not a moment that I don’t buy into these characters, their situations or their reactions to those situations. This might be Kevin Bacon’s best performance and Kyra Sedgewick is spectacular.

What I appreciate most about The Woodsman is the reminder that people who prey on children often don’t look like monsters, or act like monsters, or even think that they’re monsters. Kids are taught (hopefully) that they’re supposed to run from the boogeyman — to fight and kick and scream and do whatever it takes to get away. What they don’t always know, and what we maybe don’t always tell them, is that sometimes the boogeyman is someone you think of as a friend. It’s not always the creepy dude with the glass eye in the ratty car dangling a moldy bag of gummy bears out the window. It might as easily be a pleasant young guy who chuckles at your cool t-shirt slogan, or a casual passerby ready with a few words of comfort after you’ve just had a massive argument with your best friend.

It can be anyone. That’s crucial.

Those of us who are parents or who will become parents need to share this with our kids — not once, but until the message sticks. It’s a heavy thing to tell a child that not all adults can be trusted, but the consequences of leaving them blissfully ignorant are potentially so much worse. So here’s my public service message to you all. Tell them that the boogeyman can come in the most innocent of disguises. Tell them that sometimes it’s okay to disobey an adult. Above all, make sure they know that you love them and that they can tell you anything. Anything at all. You will never ever love them less.

Watch The Woodsman, sure. Learn. Understand. Sympathize if you must. Just be careful.

Intermission!

• When the parole officer notices Walter’s cherry wood table, there’s a plant on it. The plant isn’t given to Walter until a later scene.
• How disturbing it is when Walter says he LIKES the racket from the school playground during recess.
• Robin is probably the most realistic eleven-year old I’ve ever seen in a movie.
• The movie is set in Philadelphia. YAY Philadel- oh wait. Never mind.
• It’s really eerie to watch a pedophile from the eyes of another pedophile.
• When Vicki goes after the lumberyard worker who prodded her with a stick, I’m not sure Kyra Sedgewick was acting!
• Vickie’s first reaction when Walter tells her what he was in prison for. She laughed.