Review of The Sessions (2012) by Pedro B — 17 Jan 2014

The Sessions is a crowd-pleaser, but I don't know who wouldn't feel indifferent while watching this awkward and occasionally touching film. The Sessions follows a simple story-line: Mark O'Brien, a man who depends on an iron lung, wants to lose his virginity at the age of 38 so he hires a sex therapist named Cheryl.

John Hawkes plays Mark O'Brien in an immersing performance that is so naively real that makes you truly consider Hawkes one of Hollywood's finest actors. Helen Hunt plays the surrogate in a equally good but different way; she is down to earth and looks like she came on set deciding to ad-lib some sass.

I think everyone who watches this film will love her charismatic performance. If there was an Oscar for Best Duo, Hunt and Hawkes would win it in 2012. William H. Macy plays an unconventional priest, but I'm sorry, his hair just gets in the way.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but I cannot imagine anyone taking that priest seriously as he looks like a hippie. All quips aside, we have to look at the rich screenplay that sometimes makes me think this should have stayed an article.

The film has a lot to say: everyone deserves and needs love even if we call it 'sex.' What an original idea - sex is not just physical pleasure, it is a bond between two people! We see that Mark does not really want sex, after being rejected by his previous caretaker and seeing how happy his married friend is, he decides he wants love.

The problem is the script written by Ben Lewin, who is also the director, scratches only the surface making the film appear awkward. Why does Cheryl do this and how can she live with it? Maybe she's naive, like the viewer, and underestimates the emotion behind intercourse.

I guess I liked The Sessions, but its too odd for me, even for the given subject matter. It's a nice flick to catch due to the sub par chemistry between Hawkes and Hunt, and the story's quite good.