Review of The Sessions (2012) by Eric B — 22 Mar 2013

"The Sessions" is well-acted but eventually turns into a sappy tearjerker. Stars John Hawkes and Helen Hunt give bold, brave performances but can't do enough to lift a soft-headed script.

Screenwriter Ben Lewin (also the director) seems to have great trouble figuring out how to share the main characters' feelings with the audience. William H. Macy (with an inappropriate, flowing hairstyle) has a thankless role as a priest who does little but give polio-stricken Mark O'Brien (Hawkes) an excuse to provide onscreen narration of his life, while O'Brien's sexual surrogate (Hunt) is stuck aimlessly journalling into a handheld recorder. How about just letting them talk to each other? Or giving Hunt's husband (Adam Arkin) a bigger part?

Hawkes is an amazing contortionist, twisting his bare ribcage into a withered husk, but Hunt's Boston accent feels inconsistent. She tends to broaden an "a" here and there ("Let's get stah-ted") and leave it at that. But if you're only there to see her full-frontal scenes, you won't mind.