The Sessions

The Sessions tells the inspirational true story of Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes), a poet/journalist who has an iron lung and is paralyzed from the neck down due to polio. At age 36 he decides to finally lose his virginity and – with the support of his friend/priest (William H. Macy) – hires a sex surrogate (Helen Hunt).

John Hawkes (Winter's Bone, Martha Marcy May Marlene) has been gathering accolades for his performance in The Sessions – and with good reason. He not only delivers on the physical demands of such a role but he manages to encapsulate the emotions of a man with a broken body but a good heart. It's an impressive performance that should see him at least receive an Oscar nomination come next years awards. Hawkes is almost matched by Helen Hunt. She bares all in a brave role that depicts a woman struggling with her job and her emotions. These two performances are some of the best (so far) this year. William H. Macy also gives a good performance as a likable priest that O'Brien is able to confide in.

As a whole, the film doesn't shy away from much. The sex "therapy" sessions are depicted as realistically as possible and are both funny and touching (no pun intended). Ben Lewin's direction is simple yet it manages to adequately depict O'Brien's world without sensationalizing it. It's an all round simple tale that is well told. This is an adult drama that will make you laugh, cry and look more positively at your own life. There aren't many films that do that these days.

Being surprised by how good a movie is isn't something I've experienced much in the last several years of my movie-going, but it happened to me with "The Sessions," a small and lovely film about a paraplegic and a sex surrogate who fall a little bit in love with each other.

John Hawkes and Helen Hunt give two of the best performances I saw in movies last year as the disabled man and the sex surrogate he hires. The whole film has a relaxed and natural humanity to it, handling sensitive subject matter with refreshing frankness. It has an aching sweetness to it that's a welcome change from the jaded, cynical and violent stories flooding our news media and our multiplexes. The film is full of characters who see little glimpses of the way in which their lives might have been different had they made different choices. These moments happen to all of us, and they don't necessarily mean we're unhappy with what we have. But when they do happen, it's almost impossible not to be at least a little wistful over the "what ifs." The tone of this film perfectly captures that feeling.

A really, really good movie.

Grade: A

"The Sessions" is a sensitive and poignant film with an outstanding performance by John Hawkes as poet Mark O'Brien a childhood victim of polio that left him paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on personal attendants and an iron lung that enables him to survive the nights without suffocating. In voice and facial expression he manages to perfectly capture the life of a severely disabled man who likes to push against boundaries and retains a sense of humor--he tells someone that he believes in God because he needs to blame someone. This role is quite a departure for Hawkes who gave terrific performances in films like "Winter's Bone" and "Martha Marcy May Marlene" where he was Jennifer Lawrence's loner brother and a deranged cult leader haunting Elizabeth Olsen. Helen Hunt is memorable as the sex surrogate to whom O'Brien turns to help him achieve his dream of sexual intimacy with a woman. A professional as well as a wife and mother she doesn't hesitate to take exception with the notion that she is some kind of prostitute and clearly she isn't. William H Macy is the local parish priest whom O'Brien a devout Catholic relies on for advice and encouragement. There's plenty of wry humor watching Macy trying to figure it all out as he knows he's in uncharted waters. Based on a magazine essay director/writer Ben Lewin handles this unusual subject matter with great sensitivity and intelligence. This isn't some Hallmark TV movie it's a mature, honest film that isn't going to insult your intelligence. Definitely worth seeing.

Been a little while since I've seen a film that's as touching and moving as "The Sessions" which is based on the real life story of a California man named Mark O' Brien. And it's certainly a little different O' Brien(in a top notch and excellent performance from John Hawkes)a poet and journalist is a man with talent, but tragically he's confined to an iron lung due to a kid bout with polio. Then at the age of 38 Mark has made the big decision to lose his virginity. This will be a big impact on Mark's life so he consults the advice of his ever honest priest Father Brendan(in a good supporting turn from veteran William H. Macy)who oddly enough gives a good hearted thumbs up.

This pleasure changing experiment will have to be done with the help of a professional sex surrogate and this lady is a strong and tough wife and mother who makes her living helping others enter Cheryl(in a strong and direct turn from Helen Hunt)who can make everything appear like she's the plain Jane girl from next door. Slowly but surely these encounters or sessions between her and Mark produce results of feeling, relaxation, mind changing, and comfort, all before they finally approach the pleasure point! Along the way this picture is told with honesty and much of the scenes are humor mixed with blunt and brash serious feel of a man being set free toward a new feeling of pleasure freedom finally! Overall the "Sessions" is a film of journey and it shows how the discovery of sexual pleasure can bring out emotional freedom that's touching and memorable even though the scenes are brash with skin and memorable and educational with thought. This film is a real inspirational winner and the chemistry between Helen Hunt and John Hawkes is in top notch form as director Ben Lewin made a real and true winner.

The Sessions brings to the screen the last years in the life of Marc O'Brien, a polio patient who decides to lose his virginity at age 38. To do that, he gets the approval from his priest, and hires a sex surrogate who will guide him in the ways of love. So far, a little unusual maybe but nothing that would make you go "why should I watch this?". You should for two reasons: the first one is the acting, starting with the criminally underrated performance of John Hawkes, who gives tremendous emotional depth to his character, a man prostrated for the rest of his life who manages to charm everyone around him, including the audience. Everyone else involved give very low-key, realistic and heartfelt performances: Helen Hunt and William H. Macy especially, but also the rest of the supporting cast. The acting is so good that at one point I forgot I was watching a movie and felt like I was listening to real people going through their experiences.

The second reason is the story itself. I did some research on line about the life of the real Marc O'Brien and the film is pretty accurate and consistent with the facts; Marc's life is nothing short of extraordinary, especially if you consider that the film is based on an article of his that he had to type with a pen in his mouth. The people he met, the relationships he formed and how he formed them, all that is part of a very uplifting story which truly happened and is not adorned to make it more Hollywood-esque.

All of the above elements make for a very satisfying movie-going experience which I can't recommend highly enough. Everyone I know who's seen the movie has shared my feelings and it's exactly what I'm trying to convey to you: go see it and you won't regret it.