10 Films Actors Wanted You To Hate

Kevin Bacon gave the best performance of his entire career in a movie that, by sheer subject matter alone, will be unpalatable to the vast majority of people.

2004's The Woodsman casts Bacon as Walter, a convicted child molester who returns home after spending 12 years in prison.

Though a perfectly well-wrought drama on its own terms, the film presents an especially tantalising challenge to the viewer - can you sympathise with a protagonist who has sexually abused children?

Thankfully Bacon's performance is so remarkable that many may begrudgingly answer in the affirmative, but there's no denying that The Woodsman willfully puts audiences through the wringer, forcing them to confront their own attitudes towards abuse and society's unwillingess to accept paedophilia as a mental health issue.

You may leave the film with a newfound sense of perspective for people like Walter, but you'll likely do so while resenting the generally stomach-churning drama on offer. And ultimately, that's why it's so bracingly effective and totally unforgettable.