THE SESSIONS
(director/writer: Ben Lewin; screenwriter: based
on the autobiography article “On Seeing a
Sex Surrogate” of Mark O'Brien;
cinematographer: Geoffrey Simpson; editor: Lisa
Bromwell; music: Marco Beltrami; cast: John
Hawkes (Mark), Helen Hunt (Cheryl Cohen
Greene), William H. Macy (Father Brendan), Moon
Bloodgood (Vera), Annika Marks (Amanda), Rhea Perlman
(Mikvah Lady), Jennifer Kumiyama
(Carmen), W. Earl Brown
(Rod), Adam
Arkin (Josh, the jealous philosopher
husband), Robin Weigert (Susan,
volunteer worker), Blake
Lindsley (Dr. Laura White, sex therapist), Ming
Lo (Motel Clerk); Runtime: 98; MPAA Rating: R;
producers: Judi Levine/Stephen Nemeth/Ben Lewin; Fox
Searchlight; 2012)
"The
uplifting struggle for living a life of
dignity for paralyzed from the
neck down polio victim Mark O'Brien."
Reviewed
by Dennis Schwartz
The
uplifting struggle for living a life of dignity for
paralyzed from the neck down polio victim Mark O'Brien
(John Hawkes), a Berkeley,
California, resident, a devout Catholic, and a poet
and journalist, confined to living in an iron lung
since he contacted the disease at age six. Mark died
in 1999 at the age of 49.
The Sessions is based on Mark's autobiographical
article “On Seeing a Sex Surrogate,”
that was published in 1990 in the literary
magazine The Sun. Directed with insight and
compassion by Polish-born filmmaker Ben Lewin ("Hollywood
Gold"/"Georgia"/"Paperback Romance"), a polio
survivor himself. If you ever wanted to know how a sex
surrogate for the handicapped operates and how
valuable they can be toward their vulnerable clients
well-being, this pic says it all.
It
begins with polio victim Mark attending The University
of California, at Berkeley, in a motorized gurney and
with the English major graduating in 1978. In 1988,
the 38-year-old virgin, residing in Berkeley, decides
that he must get laid to ensure his manhood and
consults Father Brendan (William
H. Macy) for permission and support.
The two will develop a close relationship and will
frequently meet in the back of the church to talk
things over in a confessional manner, as Mark
respects the kind-hearted priest's honest opinions
and observant counseling. Even though confined for
most of the day to his iron lung, so he can
breath, Mark hooks up with sex surrogate Cheryl
(Helen Hunt) and begins a poignant and touching
scheduled for six sessions of therapy.
The
sex scenes are handled in the most sensitive and
realistic manner, better than in any other film of
this type. Hawkes and Hunt give amazing realistic
performances that are intense, witty, amusing and
simply marvelous. It's a rare film that will not
easily be forgotten, and one that genuinely
touches the heart and makes one reflect on what
makes a person human and have a need for a
guilt-free spiritual life. It also takes time out
to show how Hunt's demanding job affects her
married life and her role as a mother of a teenage
son. In a supporting role as one of Mark's better
attendants, Moon Bloodgood
gives a fine subdued performances as the caring
health provider who wheels him around town while
he's in a gurney.
REVIEWED ON 11/15/2012
GRADE: A-
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
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SCHWARTZ
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