Sessions

Directed by: Ben Lewin

Starring: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy

Grade: A

This crowd pleasing drama follows in the footsteps of My Left Foot and Sea Inside, except it has a little more of a sense of humor along the ride. The movie stands out because of the frankness and honesty in which it deals with sex and sexuality that is very unlike most American films. It is written and portrayed sensitively, featuring a character with an "advanced" sense of humor. Sessions succeeds in large part because of the virtuoso performance of John Hawkes anchoring the entire film, but luckily for him (and us) the film builds from there, rather than relying on him.
Mark O'Brien got polio when he was eight years old, and wasn't supposed to live into his 40s. He attended college, majored in english, is a poet and a journalist. What he does with only control of his neck up, supersedes what most do with their entire bodies. It's a cruel world. Mark is a religious man, otherwise who would he have to blame all of this on? He confides in his priest and friend (Macy) who listens with empathy and an ear that extends beyond the confines of catholicism. Mark is approaching his "used by" date, and he knows it. A poet and a romantic, he longs to have sex (and perhaps love). He begins meeting with a sex surrogate.
There is a difference between a surrogate and a prostitute. Helen Hunt arrives with a questionable Boston accent, and begins seeing the severely disabled Mark. He can only live outside of the iron lung for 3-4 hours at a time. The sessions begin rocky, but they quickly develop a chemistry. The thing with Mark is he is whip sharp, and has a wicked sense of humor. You can't help but love the guy, and knowing your physical body is such a limitation is a crushing sense. As Mark progresses toward full intercourse (he can have an erection) he (like most of us) begins mixing physical expression and emotional attachment, transference, and begins to fall for Cheryl. The first woman to show him both kindness and physical intimacy. The tragic aspect is that she echoes it, despite her best efforts. She is a married woman, in a stale relationship, and Mark sees her, and is there with every fiber of his being.
The film sidesteps a lot of cliches on this road, and deals with its characters sensitively, allowing themselves to follow their journey thoughtfully. It never plays up the emotion, and any uplifting feeling is earned. John Hawkes delivers a performance of real depth, deserving the comparisons to Day-Lewis' My Left Foot. Hawkes physical transformation, the veins popping out of his forehead just to breathe, the breathy northeastern-accented voice, the constant smile, the pained eyes. But he never dives into sentimentality, he plays Mark as a human being. Someone who is smart and has a playful attitude toward life and his predicament, and is on a real journey. Hunt is brave and matter-of-fact in a role that needed to contrast with Mark's romanticism. And Macy steals scenes with the coolest priest this side of DeNiro in Sleepers.
Most American films wouldn't show a woman in her 40s naked, wouldn't talk about sex in such unsexy ways. It's a real pleasure to see something so sensitive and honest toward sex and disability, and in the same movie, while mixing in some religion, it seems like an odd concoction. Like Mark, it overcomes. Mark died at 44 years old. A published writer, who enjoyed the love of 3 women in his life, both emotionally and physically. That's more than most of us can say.