What goes through the mind of a person suffering from pedophilia? How do we understand their motivation, behaviors, and obsession? One can often understand a personʼs motives through an examination of conflicts and attempts at resolution. Nicole Kassell uses the full range of cinematic technique in The Woodsman (2004), a film based on a Steven Fechter play, to capture the psychology of Walter (played by Kevin Bacon). The symbolism of birds is evident throughout and beautifully entwined through the situations of Walterʼs life. It starts with birds on the windowsill of Walterʼs apartment, which overlooks a schoolyard. Walter feeds these city dwellers, their vulnerability mirrored by the young boys in the schoolyard, whom he observes being lured into a car with candy by a male perpetrator. Birds are vulnerable, but they are also free. Walter is trying to break away from his compulsive search for 10- to 12-year-old girls. The movie looks at the characteristics of Walter, along with societal attitudes of pedophiles. The film sends the message that the abuser, with support and with self-understanding, can begin to heal and lead a more “normal” life. It is a hopeful scenario, but not surprisingly it depends less on the typical social system (therapy and law enforcement) than on the social environment (job, social support, and chance encounters). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)