By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Ben Lewin
Starring: Annika Marks | Helen Hunt | John Hawkes | Moon Bloodgood | Robin Weigart | William H. Macy
Country: united_states
Year: 2012
Running time: 95
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1866249/
Bruce says: “So many things could have gone wrong with bringing THE SESSIONS to the screen. The script could have made the story cheap and tawdry. The direction could have taken the story to a sensationalistic plateau. The actors could have seemed self-conscious. I am happy to report that none of these missteps were made. THE SESSIONS is a beautiful story in the hands of many artists who collectively understand the underpinnings of tender human interaction.
“Most everyone has heard the story which begins in 1988. Mark O’Brien (John Hawkes) is confined to an iron lung as a result of polio. He is able to escape for a few hours at a time. His life is lonely and limited. His main interaction is with the various hired caretakers who watch over him with genuine feeling. Mark is an affable young man and his sense of humor carries him beyond his physical confinements. He has a crush on Amanda (Annika Marks) who is a dedicated attendant but she has decided it is time to move on. His new caretaker is Vera (Moon Bloodgood) who has a subtle appreciation of Mark. Mark’s closest confident is Father Brendan (William H. Macy) and Mark asks him if God would consider sex therapy a sin. Mark has never had sex and would like to hire a sex surrogate to learn how. After several discussions on the topic Father Brendan tells Mark as he stares at Christ on the cross, ‘In my heart I’m sure he will give you a free pass on this one. Go for it!’
“Enter Cheryl who Mark hears of through Carmen, a friend in his disabled group therapy. Carmen graciously lends her house to Mark for his meetings with Cheryl. Things get off to a slow start. Mark immediately tells Cheryl ‘Your money’s on the dish.’ ‘I’m not a prostitute,’ she snaps. She explains there will be a limit of six sessions. ‘The difference between me and a prostitute is that I don’t want your return business.’ Things heat up between them. ‘It’s really not sexy when you yell at me,’ Cheryl explains as she takes off her clothes. Mark is nervous. ‘Whenever I’m naked everyone else in the room is dressed,’ is how he puts it.
“The film follows through the sessions, one by one. With each comes a milestone of sorts and with each a stronger bond develops between Mark and Cheryl. Cheryl takes great effort to separate her professional and personal lives. When Mark sends her a poem, her husband opens it – the professional and personal suddenly collide, head-on.
“Helen Hunt began acting at the age of ten. Now close to fifty she has had a curious career. She has produced and directed. Her TV series ‘Mad About You’ was a hit for eight years. She starred in the disaster film TWISTER and then surprised everyone in the industry by winning an Oscar for AS GOOD AS IT GETS. Nothing about her curriculum vitae could possibly predict her performance here. She is fearless and sensitive. She does nothing to hide her body which we view in its splendid imperfection. She conveys perfectly what is going on in Cheryl’s head. John Hawkes’s performance is understated and moving. The supporting cast is terrific as well particularly Moon Bloodgood, Jennifer Kumiyama and Annika Marks. 5 cats
“A short time ago I mentioned a first for me – knowing a character in a film. Little did I know that strange circumstance would be matched twofold in short time. I met both Cheryl and her husband in Berkeley in 1994. Her husband (now deceased) was a brother of a friend.”
Diane says: “I thought that THE SESSIONS (disabled virgin hires sex therapist) would go for voyeurism, cheap laughs, or treacle. But it is wonderfully tender. Between this and MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, star John Hawkes shows great range. The actresses in significant roles give delightfully natural performances–I loved them all. Good Boston accents, too!
“On the other hand, Bill Macy as the priest is like a stick. Due to the Hawkes character’s horizontality, it’s hard to get two faces int one shot. But I suspected that Macy and Hawkes weren’t even on the set together. Anybody else get that feeling? It can’t possibly be Macy’s fault. I have to blame the director. There were a few false notes, but I’m giving THE SESSIONS 4 cats”
Michael says: “If ever there was a film that I had no interest in seeing, it was this one. This is a perfect example of how Chlotrudis is beneficial to all movie-lovers. After several members saw the film, and reported that they loved it, even though they too had serious reservations about seeing it, I figured I would give it a try. John Hawkes plays Mark O’Brien, a man who was stricken with polio at a young age, and is now basically paralyzed, unable to survive long stretches without the help of an iron lung. A virgin, he longs to have sex, and make a physical connection with someone, but after confessing his love to a young woman he hired to take care of him, he is crushed when she walks away, saying that she loves him, but is not in love with him. After years of enduring his physical disability, Mark is made of sterner stuff, so he hires another assistant, and contacts the Department of Sexuality and Disabiity at Berkeley, and is ultimately put in touch with a sex surrogate, played by Helen Hunt.
“Director Ben Lewin, who adapted his screenplay from an article written by the real Mark O’Brien, uses just the right touch to draw the humanity and the heart out of this story, avoiding sensationalism and prurience to create a magnificent film. He is ably assisted with outstanding performances by Hawkes, Hunt, and William H Macy and Mark’s priest. However, Moon Bloodgood stole the movie for me. She plays Vera, the assistant who comes to work for Mark after the one he confessed his love to leaves. Moon takes a pretty standard part and brings it amazingly alive with the raise of an eyebrow, the shrug of a shoulder, and wry remark. She truly makes you feel that she is actually an assistant and not someone playing one for the big screen. I urge you to consider Moon for a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Surely, THE SESSIONS is my biggest surprise of the year. 4.5 cats”