Review of The Sessions (2012) by Dave C — 09 May 2014

Certainly not your average love story, the sessions is a stark and poignant theological discussion of human longing and desire. For such an important narrative, the direction proceeds with an underwhelming light touch, infusing humor and empathic narrative to tell the story of a man confined to an iron lung at 38 and his search for meaning in life and relationship.

What undergirds the on screen drama is Mark O Brien's story (the film is based on the true to life character and his autobiographical writings). It's hard to imagine being trapped the way he is, but the film really allows us to invest empathically by getting inside his mind. Unable to function with full freedom, Mark if forced to find hope and cope in ways that his body, mind and spirit will still allow. Remaining deeply religious (he describes his attention to his faith at one point as the only way he could face his situation with any hope or confidence), he is faced with the question of his limited ability to invest in relationships. This leads him to a therapist (Hunt), who helps guide him through several sessions of learning and engaging with a sort of intimacy that his condition has robbed him of early on.

Hunt really gives everything to her role, a sort of performance that bares all with bravery and humility. Her story plays out in an equally engaging way alongside Mark's, and together they explore the theological questions of love, acceptance, moral character, and sexuality that arise as their paths intertwine and their questions become more and more confusing. As an honest film the Sessions succeeds on every level, and stays humble while it does.