Kevin Bacon, an indispensable fixture of American cinema over the past 20 years, delivers his finest performance in "The Woodsman," a harrowing and moving tale of one man's attempt to re-enter society.
After twelve years in prison, Walter (Bacon) arrives in an unnamed city, moves into a small apartment across the street from an elementary school, gets a job at a lumberyard, and mostly keeps to himself. A quiet, guarded man, Walter finds unexpected solace from Vickie (Kyra Sedgwick), a tough-talking woman who promises not to judge him for his history. But Walter cannot escape his past. A convicted sex offender, Walter is warily eyed by his brother-in-law (Benjamin Bratt), shunned by his sister, lives in fear of being discovered at work, and is hounded by a suspicious local police office, Detective Lucas (Mos Def). After befriending a young girl in a neighborhood park, Walter must also grapple with the terrible prospect of his own reawakened demons.
"The Woodsman"—based on a play of the same name by Steven Fechter, was filmed in Philadelphia in 28 days over fifteen locations. It was directed by Nicole Kassell produced by Lee Daniels, to be distributed domestically by Newmarket Films—is an unnerving, ultimately hopeful portrait of compulsion and hard-won redemption.
In telling the story of Walter, a convicted sex offender returning to society after being incarcerated for twelve years, “The Woodsman” places unusually high demands on audiences: asking viewers to empathize with a character most of us would ordinarily find repellent.
Entrusted with the task of shaping this sensitive and unsettling material were Nicole Kassell, a soft-spoken but vigorously determined first-time feature filmmaker, and an extraordinary cast that includes Kevin Bacon (“Mystic River,” “Sleepers,” “Apollo 13”), Kyra Sedgwick (“Personal Velocity,” “Phenomenon”), Mos Def (“The Italian Job,” “Bamboozled”), “Eve” (“XXX,” “Barbershop”), Benjamin Bratt “Piñero,” “Abandon,” “Traffic”), and David Alan Grier (“In Living Color”).
KEVIN BACON (Walter)
Kevin Bacon is one of the foremost actors of his generation, having proven his talents in a wide range of film genres from action thrillers to romantic comedies to heavy dramas, and even the occasional musical. His talent for balancing starring roles with powerful supporting characters has allowed him to build a varied and critically acclaimed body of work.
With the support of his parents, Bacon left his native Philadelphia to become the youngest student at Circle in the Square Theatre in New York where he studied until he made his film debut as Chip in National Lampoon's Animal House. This led to roles in “Diner” and “Footloose,” the latter of which propelled him to stardom.
Bacon’s film credits include “Trapped,” John Hughes' “She's Having a Baby,” “Criminal Law,” “The Big Picture,” “Tremors,” “Balto,” “Hollow Man,” David Koepp’s “Stir of Echoes,” “\the sleeper hit “My Dog Skip,” “Wild Things,” “Digging in China,” “Telling Lies in America,” “Picture Perfect,” Oliver Stone's “JFK” and Rob Reiner's “A Few Good Men.” He also starred in Barry Levinson’s “Sleepers” with Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro, “Apollo 13” directed by Ron Howard, “Murder in the First” (voted Best Actor by The Broadcast Critics Association and nominated for Best Supporting Actor by The Screen Actors Guild and the London Film Critics Circle), and “The River Wild” (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe). Bacon also appeared with Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo in Jane Campion’s “In the Cut,” which was released in September 2003.
Bacon most recently starred in Clint Eastwood’s “Mystic River,” which opened the 2003 Mew York Film Festival and received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture. Bacon will next be seen in the MGM comedy “Beauty Shop,” in which he co-stars with Queen Latifah.
In 1996, Bacon made his directorial debut with, “Losing Chase” starring Kyra Sedgwick, Beau Bridges, and Helen Mirren. Produced for Showtime, Losing Chase was honored with three Golden Globe nominations, including, Best Motion Picture made for television. The film debuted on Showtime and was also screened at the Sundance Film Festival and the 1996 Toronto Film Festival.
Bacon recently directed his second film, “Loverboy” which he also produced and appears in. Based on the acclaimed novel by Victoria Redel, the film stars Kyra Sedgwick and features appearances by Sandra Bullock, Campbell Scott, Matt Dillon, Marissa Tomei, and Oliver Platt.
On Broadway, Bacon starred in a one-man show, “An Almost Holy Picture,” a Roundabout Theatre Company production written by Heather McDonald. Bacon played Samuel Gentle, a church groundskeeper and ex-priest whose daughter is born with congenital hypertrichosis lanuginosa, (lanugo) a rare condition that covers her body in hair. He takes you through his journey with faith and a person’s relationship with God.
Bacon’s stage work also includes such Off-Broadway productions as “Album,” “Poor Little Lambs,” and “Getting Out.” He made his Broadway debut in 1983 with Sean Penn in “Slab Boys,” and also starred in the 1986 production of Joe Orton's highly touted play “Loot.” He also starred in Theresa Rebeck's comedy “Spike Heels” with Tony Goldwyn and Saundra Santiago.
Bacon's television credits include the American Playhouse version of Lanford Wilson's play “Lemon Sky,” a production that teamed him with his future wife. Other television credits include the “The Gift” and the cable film “Enormous Changes at the Last Minute.”
With his older, musician brother Michael, Bacon is the other half of The Bacon Brothers, a successful band with a sound that Bacon describes as “Forosoco” (which is the title of their first album)—Folk, Rock, Soul, and Country. Already highly regarded and hugely successful on the national club circuit, they have recorded three CD’s and recently released a double-live album and concert DVD.
In January 2000, the Film Society of Lincoln Center honored Bacon for his extraordinary career in the film industry. Bacon resides with his wife and two children in New York.
KYRA SEDGWICK (Vickie)
Kyra Sedgwick has conquered success on stage and screen and continues to do so. She has received two Golden Globe nominations, a Theater Award, Los Angeles Drama Desk Critics Circle Award and a Dramalogue Award.
This fall, Segwick will be seen in Showtime's “Cavedweller” opposite Aidan Quinn, for director Lisa Cholodenko (Laurel Canyon, High Art). Sedgwick, who developed and produced the film, plays Delia, a rock singer who returns to her Georgia hometown hoping to regain custody of the two daughters she left with her abusive ex-husband. Showtime is planning an October release.
She will next appear in Joseph Sargent's “Something the Lord Made” for HBO. Sedgwick co-stars along side Alan Rickman, Mos Def and Mary Stuart Masterson. She plays the role of Mary Blalock, the wife of Alfred Blalock, who performed the first open-heart surgery procedure. The film will premiere on HBO, on May 31st.
Segwick has also wrapped production on Kevin Bacon's independent drama “Loverboy,” co-starring along side Matt Dillon, Campbell Scott and Marisa Tomei. She co-produced the film with Kevin Bacon and Bigel Mailer.
In 2002, Sedgwick co-starred with Parker Posey in Rebecca Miller's independent film, “Personal Velocity,” winning the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Other recent credits include the Emmy nominated TNT movie, “Door to Door,” opposite William H. Macy, Helen Mirren, and Kathy Baker, Fisher Stevens' film “Just A Kiss,” Showtime's “Behind the Red Door,” opposite Keifer Sutherland and Stockard Channing; “Secondhand Lions,” co-starring Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, and Haley Joel Osment.
Other films include John Turteltaub's “Phenomenon” opposite John Travolta, “What's Cooking,” which opened the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, the romantic comedy, “Labor Pains,” “Critical Care,” with James Spader and Albert Brooks, “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Mr. and Mrs. Bridge,” “Singles,” “Lemon Sky,” and “Hearts and Souls;” HBO's “Montana,” with Stanley Tucci, Robin Tunney, and Philip Hoffman and Showtime's “Losing Chase,” in which she executive produced and starred opposite Helen Mirren. “Losing Chase” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received a Golden Globe and Cable Ace nomination.
Sedgwick's theater credits include the The Culture Project's New York production of “The Exonerated,” a triumphant run of Nicholas Hytner's “Twelfth Night” at Lincoln Center, “Ah Wilderness!” for which she won the Theater Award, and David Mamet's Oleanna, which garnered her a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and a Dramalouge Award.
