Movie Review: The Sessions

By Maureen

TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

I knew very little about The Sessions going into it. I knew that it was about a man suffering from polio (John Hawkes) who hires a woman to have sex with him. That was enough to pique my curiosity, and so I watched it.

The Sessions is based on the life of a real-life man, Mark O’Brien, who contracted polio at a young age and has to spend all but about four hours per day inside an iron lung to keep him breathing. Even when outside this device, he is required to remain flat on his back on a gurney with portable oxygen.

He manages to work his way through an English degree at Berkeley, and when the story picks up in 1988, he is 38 years old and working from home as a poet and occasional journalist. He’s contacted about a news story about sex and the disabled, and his quest for professional research opens a world of personal doors and discoveries for him.

Deeply religious his whole life, Mark seeks the council and approval of a Catholic priest (William H. Macy), who ultimately gives Mark his and the Church’s blessing to explore his sexuality. Through Berkeley’s now-defunct Center for Sexuality and the Disabled, Mark meets Cheryl (Helen Hunt), a sex surrogate who uses a maximum of six sessions to help clients be introduced to sex. The question of how her work differs from prostitution is raised as well as answered in the film, with Cheryl telling Mark “a prostitute wants your repeat business, I don’t.” She functions as equal parts teacher, coach, and cheerleader, and Hunt is magnificent at making Mark as well as the viewer feel comfortable.

I was expecting the film to approach the sex scenes and discussions one of two ways: glossing over them, or making them viscerally uncomfortable in a sort of “look at the pathetic freak” way. Happily, neither proved to be the case. Mark’s condition is never shied away from or ignored, but Cheryl empowers him to own his sexuality just as he is. She never tries to turn him into something he’s not, or give him some sort of modified introduction to sex acts. She makes him comfortable and treats him like a human, and after their sessions conclude, the rest of the film shows how his life changes as a result of them, as well as the lives of the other characters we meet along the way.

The Sessions is a very thought-provoking movie in an enjoyable way. The ending is unsurprising, and could have been played for morbidity and somberness, but instead left me feeling uplifted and satisfied. Sexuality among the disabled is a very rich topic, and I found myself wishing the parts of the film focusing on Mark’s interviews had gone on for a bit longer, and that we got to see a little more of the thought process that got him from his interviews to his sessions with Cheryl.

John Hawkes gives the character of Mark depth, and makes him sympathetic without overly playing up the “this character is paralyzed” angle. He’s very matter-of-fact about his condition, and has understandably come to appreciate the value of a sense of humor. The movie is a taut 95 minutes, and I think it gives each of the subplots appropriate resolution as well as the uplifting ending mentioned earlier.

If you have the chance to check out this gem of a film that’s been flying mostly under the radar, I encourage you to do so, provided you’re not squeamish about nudity or frank discussions of sexuality.

The Sessions, currently in theaters, has been nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Actress (Helen Hunt) and Best Actor (John Hawkes).

The film will be released on Blu-Ray on February 12.

Special Features:
– John Hawkes becomes Mark O’Brien
– Helen Hunt as the Sex Surrogate
– The Women Who Loved Mark O’Brien

Blu-ray Exclusive Features:
– Deleted Scenes
– Writer/Director Ben Lewin Finds Inspiration
– A Session with the Cast
– Ultraviolet Copy