The Sessions (2012)

Touches You

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

In a Film sure to appeal to a open minded, compassionate crowd, John Hawkes plays Mark O'Brien. An pollio victim at 6, who lives his life mostly confined in a Iron Lung. Each day a attendant comes to his home to help with his basic human needs. Now the movie begins when he turns 38, Mark decides he wants to lose his virginity. With the help of his priest played by none other than William H Macy, Mark learns about a Sex Surrogate who is experienced with people having special needs or disabilities. This is where Mark is introduced to Cheryl, played by Academy Award Winner Helen Hunt. She is hired by Mark for just 6 sessions, in which the goal is to achieve Sexual Intercourse. From here the film goes back in forth between Mark during the sessions, and his reactions and interaction with his priest and attendants. Mark is a poet and possesses an excellent sense of humor, so it is very touching and real to go on the journey with him, as film is based on a true story. Helen Hunt is the real deal as Cheryl and leads the cast with class. This movie will bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye. Bravo !!

I wasn't sure what to expect from "The Sessions." A movie about a disabled man who hires a sex surrogate seems capable of going in a lot of different directions - not all of them good or worthy. But this turns out to be a very good movie. Sensitive and sensual, it's also thought-provoking. It takes us through a wide range of human emotions, from fear to joy to sadness. It features very good performances from the three leads (John Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William H. Macy) that end up making this a real pleasure to watch.Hawkes plays Mark O'Brien in this true story. O'Brien is a writer and poet, stricken with polio, as a child, confined to a gurney and dependent on an iron lung to survive. He's missed out on a lot of normal experiences, and one thing that bothers him is that he's 38 years old and, while he has felt love, he's never experienced sexual intimacy, and after consulting with his priest (Macy) he hires a sexual surrogate (Hunt) to lose his virginity.The inter-relationships between O'Brien and the other two are fascinating. Macy is a wonderful actor, and he plays the part of the priest well. Father Brendan wants to be a support for Mark, but there are times when he's clearly out of his depth in discussing this situation, and Macy handles those scenes with a subtle sense of humour. Meanwhile, Cheryl, the surrogate, finds herself struggling with perhaps unexpected feelings that she begins to develop for Mark, even while she has a husband and son at home. There's a remarkable chemistry between Hunt and Hawkes. Hunt seemed comfortable in a part that demanded a great deal of nudity - but it was all appropriate and never gratuitous. The world of sexual surrogacy must be a strange one, demanding both great intimacy and solid professional boundaries, and Hunt gives us a glimpse into that world.It's a very good movie, based on an article O'Brien wrote about his experiences with sexual surrogacy. leading up to an ending that's both heart-warming, as O'Brien meets a woman (Robyn Weigert) to share his life with but also a bit heart-wrenching as he passes away a few years later.

The story touches on such rarely discussed subject, sexuality and disabilities, and takes it to one of the most extreme limits it can imagine. I really like the earlier dialog line: "I am a true believer. I believe in a God with a sense of humor, a wicked sense of humor, who created me in His odd image." The fact that dramatization of this movie include William H. Macy's priest character just makes all the utterly hyperbolic and paradoxical nature of this movie the more weird. Yet it kind of succeeded in keeping my curiosity about it, and to keep on watching. Not being a mere predictable, in my opinion this movie was able to do emotion play so well that it was able to steer from a pity inducing movie at the first minutes into one with a glimmer of hope, even though it's in a sense a wrong one. Helen Hunt goes all out to totality with this one in her older years of her career, while John Hawkes only acted out an average performance.

I don't write reviews, I just give my humble opinion of some things, and this picture deserves a mention for sure.Sexual Intercourse, a person with disabilities, two very tricky subjects to deal with. However - in my humble opinion, this movie, does deal with those subjects, and it does it most splendidly. All those involved in the making of this movie I feel, should be proud of their work.I thought that the movie did a good job of sharing a little bit of what the main character has to contend with on a daily basis. It also gives us a view of how Helen Hunt's character goes about doing her job in a caring manner and with good taste.If you like a movie that really has a story, then give this one a try, I think you will enjoy it, and perhaps like I, be touched by it.Thank you to all involved with this movie, keep doing what you have done so well.