Review of The Sessions (2012) by Smijatov — 01 Aug 2013

The Sessions is a great indie film that maturely explores topics of sexuality, with a focus on disability. Based on a true story, as often films like this are, it is truly mind boggling once one realises how ability and disability shape our lives in a lot of ways, and that is exactly what The Sessions brings out.

The screenplay is well written, but it is based on the actual work by Mark O'Brien (portrayed by the excellent John Hawkes). I was one of the rare people who was not surprised in the least with Hawkes' Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for "Winter's Bone" since I believed his performance was superior to that of Jennifer Lawrence. Yet again, he has proven me right. Exquisite, nuanced performance that comes to life out of his eyes. Simply amazing. Helen Hunt, who received a Oscar nomination for portraying the sex therapist O'Brien sees, is also a revelation. A very mature, down-to-earth, "real" performance. She doesn't overact or overly dramatise any single moment. Even her breakdown scene is rather demure and feels incredibly real.

The performances were definitely the highlight of the film, and they truly made the story come to life in the best possible way. Some people might not like the story itself, but that is another issue. I have to give credit where credit is due, though: very few American films deal head-on with sex and sexuality, yet alone for non-mainstream sexuality, such as heterosexual, able-ist and marriage-bound. Sex and sexuality have been European cinema's turf for the longest time, and it is very nice to see filmmakers trying to grapple with it, and actually managing quite successfully. I'd highly recommend this film to anyone.