Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadgerThe Sessions tells the story of a crippled man looking to lose his virginity. He gets the help of a sex therapist and tells his priest about it. The story, by nature, is extremely graphic. Nudity, sexual dialogue, and explicit sex scenes are all present in the film. The story is very interesting and the ending is very good.The acting is very good. John Hawkes does a great job portraying his character. He is a sweet man but his voice is very annoying. Helen Hunt also performs well. She is seen completely nude very often which is a plus. Her character is from Boston but the way she pronounces Mark is annoying. William H. Macy performs very well, his character is at time very funny. The pacing was a little slow for me but the runtime is short.Pros: Good story, good ending, great acting, seeing Helen Hunt nude in a lot of scenes, and a short runtimeCons: Mark's voice is annoying, the way Helen Hunt says Mark is annoying, and the pacing was a little slow.Overall Rating: 7.0

I remember this independent film being talked about on Film 2012 with Claudia Winkleman and Danny Leigh, it looked like something interesting, and it had some good names in the cast, so I was looking forward to it. Basically in 1988, in Berkeley, California, Mark O'Brien (Golden Globe nominated John Hawkes) is a journalist and poet, when he was younger he contracted poliomyelitis, and spends his life completely paralysed, requiring assistance to eat and drink, wash, get dressed and move around, and he has an iron lung (a mechanical respirator) to breathe on his own at night. Due to his condition, Mark has never had sex, he tried unsuccessfully to propose to his caretaker Amanda (Annika Marks), and he senses he may be near death, he decides he wants to lose his virginity. After consulting his priest, Father Brendan (William H. Macy), being a devout Catholic, and after talking to a sex therapist, he gets into contact with professional sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene (Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Helen Hunt), she explains that he is not like a prostitute, because it is not business, she will teach him everything to have a future loving sexual relationship. Cheryl tells Mark that they will have no more than six sessions together, with the goal of intercourse, Mark has the sense of touch, and he is maintain an erection, but he cannot masturbate and has never been close to a naked woman, so on their first session, after Cheryl undresses him, and she undresses, it does not take long for him to ejaculate when he gets overexcited. As they continue their sessions, they have to move location, to a motel, Mark continues to get overexcited when Cheryl allows him to touch her, and when she does try to get to the point of helping him to have intercourse, so she is patient in helping him get to the point where he can control himself, but they talk as openly as they can about things, without getting too much into her personal life. It becomes apparent, through the sessions, that Mark is developing developing romantic feelings for Cheryl, she is trying to remain professional, but Cheryl cannot help herself having feelings for Mark as well. Cheryl's husband Josh (Adam Arkin, Alan's son) loves her deeply, he is aware of what she does with her clients, hearing about Mark however he cannot suppress his jealousy, he withholds a love poem Mark sent Cheryl by mail, she does eventually find this. After several attempts, Mark and Cheryl are able to have mutually satisfying sex, but Mark makes the decision to make their fifth session their last, she agrees cutting their session short is will stop their burgeoning feelings. One day after the last session, Mark officially no longer a virgin, there is a power cut where he lives, his iron lung stops functioning, he uses his stick to use the telephone to call his friend for help, but he drops his stick before he can call emergency services. Mark however does survive his ordeal after being rushed to hospital, it is there that he meets and falls in love with a young woman named Susan Fernbach (Robin Weigert), throughout his life Mark had relationships with three women. In the end, Mark has passed away following complications from bronchitis, his friends and the women he came to know and love, including Cheryl, are attending his funeral, Father Brendan gives a thoughtful and personal eulogy, and Susan reads Mark's favourite poem, which he previously wrote for Cheryl. Also starring Moon Bloodgood as Vera, W. Earl Brown as Rod, Blake Lindsley as Dr. Laura White, Jarrod Bailey as Tony, Rusty Schwimmer as Joan, Rhea Perlman as Mikvah Lady and Ming Lo as Clerk. Hawkes gives a good performance as the sexually inexperienced and naive disabled man threatened by guilt from his beliefs, but desperate to fulfil his needs, Hunt is very good as the surrogate willing to teach him the tools he needs for the future, she seems comfortable being nude a lot of the time, and Macy is great support as the free-thinking priest helping him through the dark times and offering comforting advice. It is a very simple story, a man who cannot move losing his virginity, and slowly he has feelings for the woman who will eventually do it with him, and she feels the same, the fact that the story is true gives the film some depth, but it is not just a serious and schmaltzy film, it leaves room for a witty script and some funny moments as well, all in all it is a likable comedy drama based on a true story. Worth watching!

It must be an agonising existence for people in Mark O'Brien's situation, to have the full sensations of touch and feel but not the ability to utilise them in any way. Instead they are at the mercy of an assistant 24/7, and should these helpers slip away or be inattentive for even a second, they are further than helpless. When one is in this position the torture may be more than just physical; the mental toll of endless pleases and thank yous day in and day out must strip away all pretenses of dignity. Mark recounts, that along with a strong dosage of his Catholic upbringing, this has led to a crippling shame about his naked body and virginity in his 30s. So for all the platitudes in the opening of footage of a young Mark, beaming and bouncing and about to be struck with a lifelong debilitating condition, for all the singing of courage and perseverance in the face of hardship, it means squat. John Hawkes plays Mark O'Brien in a role that is oral as it is physical. We sense that those who are stuck in an iron lung for a lifetime must fiercely over-compensate in another area in order to avoid completely sinking into self-pity, so he does so through humour. This is a relatively common humanising device seen in these types of biopics about people with disabilities - when he bitches and moans in his narration about the less than stellar level of care from his dumpy assistant, it shows us that his character is just like any other person, and not some angelic, persevering figure set up for fetishisation. Hawkes also seems to be soberly aware of the power-imbalance of the relationship, which is a useful and sometimes regretful fact that he must confront at times. The first time he falls in love with Amanda, one of his carers, and the first time he utters those fateful three words to her, is voiced as a conscious effort to avoid sounding pitiful and to implore her to look past his condition. But Hawkes is also good enough to make the statement doubtful within himself, and we can see a lifetime of conflict and loneliness in his eyes. Marks' character is airy and mostly unexplained, but her reaction to this confession is a moment of such great subtlety. She returns the same smile that she has worn genuinely for the duration of their relationship, and then her face creases up in regret as she realises what he is doing and how she cannot say the same with his amount of conviction. But if Lewin can tap into the naturally humorous outlook of Mark then he overextends and tries to force this into other situations. Mark is wheeled into other homes and begins his interviews concerning how those with disabilities navigate the already tricky boundaries of sex and adulthood. What should be serious anecdotes are given the mockumentary treatment, the frankness of the dialogue hanging in the awkward silence as Vera averts her glance. You half expect the camera to tremble a touch more and slightly zoom out. This insulting treatment from Lewin seeks to create embarrassment where there is none, and only reaffirms the sneaking suspicion that for every Mark O'Brien that is given star treatment there are other minorities that can be freely thrown under the bus. And to assist this process the film takes several liberal leaps where the extent of Mark's religious guilt and self-blame is narrated back to us via Cheryl's post-session notes. Because the blossoming romance is chiefly internalised and implied off-screen, its impact is softened. But it is the ideal that is problematic in itself. Here is what Mark writes himself, in the article that much of the film is based upon: "In re-reading what I originally wrote, and my old journal entries from the time, I've been struck by how optimistic I was, imagining that my experience with Cheryl had changed my life." And yet Lewin has completely gone against this feeling, and presented what is akin to an adolescent fantasy, where Mark extrapolates his first sexual experiences into a revelatory and life-changing moment and something that builds a cherished relationship. No matter how good Hawkes and Hunt might be, the brief connection is based on naivety taken completely seriously, and the end result is something entirely removed from reality. So in the end it is Macy's Father Brendan that feels the most genuine. He has an acute awareness of the priest's role, but also radiates kindness, goodwill, and most importantly of all, common sense.

"Let me touch you with my movie", director Ben Lewin can tell this easily. This movie is really touching and mind soothing. Brilliant acting by John Hawkes and Helen Hunt. The concept of the movie is awesome with this kind of subject like sex surrogate. Its a story of man who may be physically broken but with sharp mind and great sense of humor. His heart is also full of love and in this movie he is loved and loved. Helen Hunt did a brilliant job to characterize the sex surrogate who struggled to maintain difference between her professional and emotional life. That sex surrogate also had a interesting and complicated bonding with her husband and son which is very smartly presented. I think only comparable movie with this is The Reader. I also think John Hawkes and Helen Hunt both deserved Oskar nomination at least. This movie revealed that the enormous power of a strong heart not just to stay alive but also make friends and being loved.