Lets get this out right now - this film deals with paedophilia. It's a story of a paedophile, brilliantly played by Kevin Bacon, who leaves prison after serving his time for 12 years. Strangely he ends up renting an apartment across the road from an primary school. He works at a lumberyard and attempts to live a quiet life. But his past keeps haunting him. He finds it hard to keep his past secret and worse, he feels that he maybe returning to his perverted ways.
The movie does deal with a topic that many would not want to think about, but it does it in a refined, controlled way.
One of the hardest to watch scenes is when Walter (Bacon) follows a young girl off a bus. What follows is brilliant acting by Bacon who shows the struggle to deal with internal demons and to try and stop what he desires.
This film doesn't skirt around the issues and shows the struggle to be normal. Even if you feel uncomfortable with the subject matter, this film is a must see just for Bacon's acting. He really makes this film and could very well win an Oscar for this work.