Kevin Bacon plays Walter, a paedophile in his forties, who has left prison as the film begins and is trying to put his past behind him. However, life on the outside isn't easy. He sees kids coming out of a school every day and still harbours those feelings. Can he keep them in check? How will his neighbours react?

This is an intelligent portrayal. It doesn't offer Walter sympathy; he doesn't ask for any. It is creditably non-sensationalist, muted even, and avoids over dramatisation, concentrating instead on the dilemmas faced by a man who has paid his debt to society and is looking for a chance not to re-offend. It is well acted and has a sense of tension throughout, merely because you don't know which way director Nicole Kassell is going to take it.

Ultimately, The Woodsman doesn't offer as much as you expect, promising more than it delivers.

However, there is one scene that is worth the price of admission alone. Walter is involved in a chance meeting with a 10-year-old girl in the park and his behaviour towards her is going to shape his future. It's a telling scene with great dialogue and nothing else in the film gets near to it.