The Woodsman

I recently had the pleasure of viewing the independent film The Woodsman, starring Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, and Mos Def. In spite of its dark subject matter, I was surprised to come away from it with a sense of hope and redemption.

The Woodsman centers around Walter (Bacon), a convicted pedophile trying to rebuild his life after spending 12 years in prison for his transgressions, as he struggles with his inner demons, often in very overt and uncomfortable ways. Even though Walter has served his time, and thus considered rehabilitated by the state, he is still seen only as a pedophile by society, most clearly represented by Sgt. Lucas (Def), a police officer who is “keeping an eye on him”.

Lucas, whose visits to Walter borderline on harassment, is not afraid to tell Walter what he really thinks of him. During one of his visits, Lucas asks Walter why there aren’t any woodsman in the world to rescue little girls from the wolves who prey on them, referring to the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood in which little Red Riding Hood is eaten by a wolf, and later rescued when a woodsman cuts open the wolf’s stomach and lets her out, unharmed.

It is this idea of wolves and woodsmen that becomes the metaphor for the film’s central theme of hope and redemption. Hope that people can change and that woodsman do, in fact, exist, and redemption as Walter struggles to be the woodsman, finding that the world is full wolves, including the one inside him.

What was interesting to me about this film was how much of my own feelings toward persons like Walter were captured on screen; how cynical and hypocritical my views were. If I can be forgiven for my transgressions, why can’t I forgive people like Walter? Are there things that are unforgivable, such as preying on the innocent? If I can change, why do I assume people Walter can’t? Or more importantly, as a professing disciple of Christ, what should my reaction be?

I will refrain from using obvious cliché (infamous in Pop-Christianity and stitched onto bracelets), but the question of which character is more Christ-like has been running through my head since I watched this film. Is it Vicki (Sedgwick), who accepts and befriends Walter, even after he reveals his dark secret to her, or is it Sgt. Lucas?

Needless to say, this film had a profound impact on me. And even though it was difficult to watch at times, I honestly feel that I am better off having seen it. I highly recommend this film, and hope that others who see it will walk away with an altered sense of hope that people can change, and that even the most depraved are still deserving of redemption.

Update:

I was reading back over this post and realized that I may not have been clear about Walter’s struggle with “the wolf inside him”. I say struggle, because he knows that what he is doing isn’t right, and I believe he sincerely wants to change. What makes it difficult for Walter is that everyone around him — his family, co-workers, Sgt. Lucas — see him only as what he was/is, instead of what he could be. It is only when he encounters other wolves that he is able to become to the woodsman, and starts down the road to redemption.

Changing the world, one perception at a time.

Changing the world can be a fairly idealistic and impractical task. Few who seek to change the world live to see it on a large scale. But change doesn’t need to be on a large scale to be affective. It doesn’t have to happen quickly.

Perhaps the best definition of change that I have heard comes from the film Life as a House.

“You know the great thing, though, is that change can be so constant you don’t even feel the difference until there is one. It can be so slow that you don’t even notice that your life is better or worse, until it is. Or it can just blow you away, make you something different in an instant. It happened to me.”

…

In summer ’05, I read this article in Relevant Magazine (now available on RelevantMagazine.com) which followed photojournalist Scott Harrison as he experienced change on a Mercy Ship.

From the article:

“What started out as an exciting and easy way to earn back college money I’d blown in the stock market, (shorting YAHOO! of all things) turned into a decade of world travel, social climbing, selfishness and materialism, and left me with an appalling value system and skewed world view.”

This is the realization that sparked a change in Scott — his journey of redemption and compassion.

He spent the better part of the next 2 years photographically documenting life on a Mercy Ship before founding the non-profit Charity:. Charity:’s first project, Charity: Water, seeks to provide clean water to the people of Africa. Though not the first (and hopefully not the last) to do this, Charity:’s approach is a little bit different. They are selling bottles of water for $20, all proceeds of which go directly to digging wells. They are able to do this through the help of donors who cover costs of bottling, packing, and shipping each bottle of water (about 45 cents per bottle).

But it doesn’t stop there. In celebration of Scott’s 32nd birthday, he is asking for $32 donations to provide clean water for at least one hospital in Kenya instead of presents, and he is encouraging other’s to join him. 12 years old = $12, 64 years = $64, and so on. “If 1,000 people gave just $32 each, we could build a water system for this hospital and help thousands of people” (Scott Harrison, from the website).

Why would we do this? Put simply, because we can. Like Scott’s experience on a Mercy Ship, Charity: is all about exploring how to live differently.

Change.

…

I find myself both inspired and humbled by Scott’s personal revolution. Granted, the contrast of his former and current lives is much greater than mine, greater than most, but even the smallest of revolutions are still revolutionary. As my friend Jake says, we might not affect change in the world, but we do affect change in ourselves (in so many words). Scott’s perception changed when he asked, “What [does] the opposite of my life look like?”

And that’s what it’s really about: changing the world, one perception at a time.