An excellent film handled with respect and grace. If it weren't based on a true story, I might have wished for a bit more struggle on behalf of the Catholic Priest - something closer to that of the priest in Million Dollar Baby. Then again, killing someone (euthanasia) is much more serious in the Church's eyes than extra-marital sex. It just seemed a bit like William H. Macy's character went a bit beyond his role and became a bit too much of a rooting friend - can't see it happening in life. But aside from this, I just loved the film. Helen Hunt is fantastic, and Hawkes doesn't disappoint - he's still one of the most underrated and under-praised actors in the biz.… Expand

John Hawkes plays a man in his late thirties who's lived most of his life in an iron lung. When he decides to explore sex, he seeks guidance from his priest (William H. Macy) and a sexual surrogate (Helen Hunt). Despite how it might sound, there's nothing unseemly or pitiable about this film. It's a sweet charmer with an upbeat disposition. Although he can only use his head, Hawkes creates a compelling character and all of the supporting case turn in captivating performances. Even in the most awkward moments, the humor and buoyant mood make this an uplifting and enchanting experience.… Expand

Very few movies can take sex, comedy, and disability without making it seem bizarre or off putting, but this film shows real people and emotion that is refreshing and heartwarming. All the performances were compelling.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mark O'Brien never figured out how to be lovable. Sentenced to live and die in an iron lung after contacting polio as a child, the poet/journalist, weighing sixty pounds when Jessica Yu filmed her documentary short Breathing Lessons, was, as a matter of fact, a grotesquerie. Had this physically compromised man found romantic love with a normal woman in real life, it would have indeed been stranger than fiction. Cheryl Ward, the sex surrogate who worked with Mark, did not retrieve a love poem from the garbage can; did not leave an envelope of money lying on the dashboard
because she felt like a cheap hooker being compensated for services rendered; did not fall for her client. The Sessions is a lie, bolstering the myth that, in O'Briens own words: "If you become disabled, you can overcome it by working hard." The Sessions doesn't prepare you for the sight of Mark's gaunt, abstract body, a spectacle that would have landed him in the freak shows of yore, not in somebody's boudoir. In order for an audience to believe that Cheryl could develop a romantic bond with Mark, his physique had to fall on the right side of repulsion. If O'Brien's body was accurately depicted, the women in the writer's life would seem like kinky fetishists with a thing for acute disfigurement. An audience, therefore, wouldn't buy the coda, where his female admirers cry at the funeral. As played by John Hawkes, the author of the article "On Seeking a Sex Surrogate" has some sex appeal, some charm, whereas his real-life counterpart was intrinsically bereft of neither. Throughout both films, we hear excerpts from O'Brien's poetry, and in a love poem to an aide, Mark's wish, expressed in the doc, that Amanda would "talk to me as a human instead of her savagely crippled employer" gets fulfilled in the biopic through contrived scenes where the coed integrates Mark into the world of the able-bodied, like when they laze together at a student picnic, making him feel like a man. Full of p*ss and vinegar, he declares his love for Amanda at the boutique, a declaration that goes unreciprocated. O'Brien, in Breathing Lessons, we find out, is harder to love; that Hawkes is playing an idealized version of the man in the iron lung. His counterpart was not fearless, was not a saint. On the subject of love, in regard to his poem about Amanda, he says, "I would kill this poem and tell her how much I love her." John Merrick wouldn't make such pronouncements in real life, and neither did Mark. The filmmaker ennobles him with an unbeknowing bravery. Breathing Lessons shows O'Brien as he really was, warts and all. The poet had hired a sex surrogate because he was angry at all women for not loving him. Mark wanted control, the same locus of power he held over his professional-minded caretakers. Sexual intercourse would be his revenge. Mark could have fired Cheryl, hurting the quasi-prostitute before she hurt him, like so many women before her. But in The Sessions, an audience will be hard-pressed to detect a misogynistic bone in Mark's body, going so far as asking permission from a priest before Cheryl guides him through the nuts and bolts of physical love. When Amanda reappears in the film, taking over the reins of Mark's gurney from Vera, her successor, en route to a public park, he tells his first love, "It could have been you, but it wasn't," causing the girl to weep, as if she regretted the choice to pass on Mark's overture. In this sense, the filmmaker takes the "opposites attract" trope popular in love stories to the edge. After all, for most, if not all women, an iron lung would be an absolute deal breaker when choosing a suitor. Mark is outfitted with the power of manipulation; he knows his words can maim, and yet, he disingenuously bemoans to Vera that Amanda "didn't show the slightest bit of jealousy." The sex makes him smarmy. To break a woman's heart, it's what Mark O'Brien probably dreamt of the most, second only to achieving full penetration. He gets The Diving Bell and the Butterfly treatment; he's patterned after Jean Dominique Bauby, the one-time editor of Elle magazine, since Bauby too is still desired, even though he's paralyzed from head-to-toe. In a game of intertextual one-upmanship, O'Brien wins. Whereas Mark was able to reach a state of tumescence, Bauby could no longer do so after his stroke. Interminably flaccid, Bauby goes through the motions of the playboy's former lothario-self, leering at the ladies and their respective erogenous zones from his one good eye. The p*nis, no longer a weapon, Bauby now employs letters, one eyeblink at a time, to form words, annihilating his wife, when he forces her to translate an intimate message to his mistress. When Cheryl informs her client about all the men who "would give anything to have a natural erection," she could be talking about Bauby, who like Mark, due to unforeseen circumstances, satiates himself by writing his brains out.… Expand

A brave film with truly remarkable performance from John Hawkes who continues to impress in his recent outings. And he does it while barely moving a muscle. Helen Hunt bares all (literally and otherwise) in a film that has poses philosophical questions on social and emotional levels. However, if you peel away the memorable performances, there is little else to say about the film.

A Dramedy based entirely around a middle aged man attempting to have sex for the first time. The twist, he spends most of his time in an iron lung because he contracted Polio in his youth. It's a picture that grips from moment to moment but leaves you empty on finishing. Mark O'Brian (John Hawkes) has been lying on his back for almost his entire life. He decides to visit a sex therapist to finally lose his virginity. However he is only allowed a limited number of sessions (suddenly that titles starting to make a whole load of sense now) and he really doesn't want this journey to end. Mercifully it does. The Sessons does despite my disappointment have several excellent qualities and almost all of them are the performances. The casting is excellent for the most part with ace performances from Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William H Macy. In this regard the film succeeds as these characters and their interactions with one another feel real and engrossing. However the scenes are let down by a script that isn't really up to the quality of the acting as it not only treats the viewer like an indiot, repeating things over and over as if we didn't get it the first time but its also that the dialogue is so incredibly stiff and lifeless as if written without cognitive thought. Another problem lies in connecting these scenes together, something the film fails at spectacularly as it does it through the characters of Marks many carers who I found myself caring very little about. In fact the only real casting problem is Moon Bloodgood who is either horribly miscast or woefully bad, I just haven't decided which yet. The scenes in between sessions are dull, uninvolving and most of all frustrating as they feel motionless. In fact these scenes stop what little pace or flow the film has while having absolutely nothing of value to say. Overall the sessions is more disappointing than terrible but its on the boundary between the two at best and what keeps it from tipping over is the bold performances which are worthy of a much better film.… Expand

You cannot help but be moved by a motion picture like this one. Here is a man who has spent his life in an iron lung and cannot move, but still can sense when he is physically touched, and he faces each day with bravery and a sense of humor. Even though the story was predictable, the performances throughout elevate the movie to another level. John Hawkes is perfectly cast as Mark, and Helen Hunt is superb as the sex therapist. The side story of the priest felt a little tacked on for me but it did add some additional humor. The movie is funnier than you think it's going to be because Mark has such a good sense of humor despite his condition. Definitely one of the better films of the year.… Expand

How John Hawkes didn't get nominated for best actor I don't know. The Sessions is everything you want in a movie. The acting is superb with a sense of great emotions from tears to laughter.

John Hawkes is the latest late bloomer of the coterie in Hollywood, thanks to the instant fame after WINTER’S BONE (2010, 8/10) and MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE (2011, 6/10), he finally landed a once-of-a-lifetime leading role (the closest chance he got in his past underrated career is Miranda July’s cuddly gem ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW 2005, 9/10), although merciless being shut down by by the academy members’ recognition albeit the wicked scheme of leading-lady-goes-supporting works again in favor of his co-star Hunt, sometimes the reality sucks, and the same could be empathized by the film’s protagonist Mark in the beginning, a paralyzed 38-year-old virgin seeks for his first full-fledged sexual intercourse with a sex surrogate Cheryl (Hunt) during six sessions (with a high-demanding mutual orgasm as the culmination).

Adapted by a true story (I know it’s a cardboard statement since it is irrelevant to the viewers), this blithely-paced, well-intentioned indie film peddles its sex-centered gambit with intimate delicacy, the curiosity of peeping other people’s sex life is subliminally enticing (plus Hawkes and Hunt are graceful in their naked forms), what’s more is when the usual dominant role of male has been nailed to an almost inclusive immobility, the comical nuance is brimful, but director/writer Ben Lewin neither exploits the racy material, nor unseemly dishes out condescending sympathy to the disabled’s restrained inconvenience. Maybe it is a whitewashed version of the reality, but the perspective of the film is unflaggingly confined to be personal and accessible, Mark’s interaction with Cheryl has been meticulously acted through each session (while most of them ended with premature ejection), when sex is so pure and without any smutty context, it is a true communication of two good-hearted souls, their mutual affections are genuine. Every line and tiny gesture (in the case of Mark, it is his expressions) bespeaks a sense of authenticity from the two great thespians.

Hawkes challenges Mathieu Amalric (THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY 2007, 8/10) in the body paralyzed, mind knife-sharp mode of acting, also due to the frequent naked scene, he twists his body to expose itself to the resemble a distorted spine, great homework has been done even before embody the mind of his character. Hunt is great as well, I hold no grudge to her but the fact of the category fraud, on the contrary, it is comforting to see her to swagger in a belated comeback, she radiates with warmth and zest as a woman has an unorthodoxy job with a family behind, the plucky nude scenes aside, her part of involvement is equally sincere and subtly hinted, as we may refer as good as it gets”. William H. Macy undertakes a sidelined role as the priest-and-friend of Mark, episodically gives some conventional advice and support with his unconventional appearance which may be a far cry from anyone has a priesthood background.

The film finishes with a farewell mass held for Mark, 3 women have entered his life and loved him in their own ways, an emblem of trinity fulfills his journey, and as a second-hand poet, his love letter may elicit a soul-touching sentimentality, but his iron-lung supported life has never been less meaningful than any of other healthy ones, the film, with no bombastic ambition, has done a practical job and sublimated its real-life fodder to a ruminating curio worth of introspection and high esteem. A fine piece of comedy offers more than expected.… Expand

The Sessions is a film that is easy to watch and to like and John Hawkes continues to remind everyone of just how versatile and gifted an actor he is. But while I was pleasantly distracted during the film's tidy 1 1/2 hour running time, I never really felt emotionally invested in any of the characters and when the credits rolled I never had any real reaction to anything that I had just seen.

The actors in this movie all look "real" -- which is especially welcome in a film based on a real story. The focus on sexual experience makes this one an interesting departure from most of the other movies you've seen about the challenges & inner lives of people with severe disabilities. And it's handled in an admirably matter-of-fact way with excellent performances. However, I think it would have been even more interesting had the filmmaker not added the Hollywood angle of the disabled man and his sexual surrogate falling in love. According to his actual account of the experience, they didn't.… Expand

The Sessions" is not an easy film to either watch or review. If education and insight into the plight of the severely disabled is a worthy and constructive endeavor, then this film certainly meets that goal. If, however, the aim of a film is to afford the viewer the opportunity to relax and simply enjoy or experience the life or lives of others without feeling uncomfortable, then, of course, this movie will not be to the viewer's liking. Although in the same genre as "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (about a quadrapalegic who cannot speak but only blink to communicate), this film is much more than that since its character can, through his wit and intelligence, speak and communicate his thoughts and, as one of the actors in the film tells her "healthy" mate, "He (the disabled subject) is more of a man than you". Based on the true story of poet and journalist Mark O'Brien and his desire, at age 38, to experience sex for the first time in his life, John Hawkes ((in the leading role) ably assisted by therapist Helen Hunt and priest William H. Macy, conveys to the audience the efforts by this prisoner in an iron lung to move forward despite his incarceration. Difficult at times to experience the film's message, for me at least, is that the power of the mind can meet and, yes, even overcome. the physical burdens, obstacles and pitfalls that the fates place in life's path. Mr. Hawkes' character plays the hand that life dealt him with charm, humor and intelligence and, to that end, he and the real life person he portrays is to be admired and respected. I give an 8.5 rating for not only its message but for the skilled and sensitive manner in which this most difficult subject is treated.… Expand

The Sessions is a curious and peculiar film; it is very different from what I have seen before, despite other movies about disabled people with the typical argument of death or euthanasia. The thing is that the idea of a quadriplegic man who wants to lose his virginity is very promising and it is perfectly well used, every dialogue or picture has a meaning and leads to such an unpredictable outcome. The situation that shows this film is basically a man trying to live a common life, hopping to fit in the society, making himself proud of what he has accomplish; it is not only about learning how to have sex, but also to have a partner and to be seen with her, to have friends, to be treated as an equal, to be loved. All these things that he wants to another person may be normal and would never questioned it, but he feels afraid of that, thinking that he does not deserve it and it is a punishment of God. In conclusion what The Sessions talk about is to cherish the little things that life brings to us. The script is very clever and the performances are great, John Hawkes and Helen Hunt especially… Expand

When this film started for the first half an hour I was thinking how overrated it was and that I wasn't going to like it. Then Helen Hunt entered the picture. To say her character and performance elevated proceedings is an understement. In an extremely brave turn as the sex therapist helping John Hawkes' (Good) polio afflicted and iron lung bound writer she is riveting. I will say here and now that i always begrudged her that oscar win for 'As Good As it Gets' and have never been a fan, but here she won me over with a compassionate and tender performance. In one scene, that had me a blubbering wreck, she breaks your heart. The film does improve on her arrival in it and goes onwards and upwards to an emotional climax. William H Macy adds some humour as the priest offering very flexible guidance, but the reason I enjoyed this film so much is purely and simply down to Miss Hunt. I no longer begrudge her that oscar, It just should have been given for this performance.… Collapse

What a delectable film this was. The Session was a moving tale of a man, crippled by polio who seeks a sex surrogate at the age of 38 to finally achieve that first sexual experience. John Hawkes is emotionally riveting as this crippled poet, Mark O'Brien. He makes a strong case by giving a light yet, hefty emotional punch, while at the same contorting his body to resemble the real man which this film is based on. Equally impressive is Helen Hunt, baring it all (no pun intended) as the sex surrogate who makes it clear that her profession is completely different from prostitution. Also of note is William H. Macy, who adds a light touch, as Mark's open minded priest who supports his endeavor every step of the way. The direction in this movie was very subtle and character oriented; and the screenplay was refreshing and filled with frank dialogue. Running at a brisk 95 minutes, it felt as if it went by fast, but it left quite an impression. The Sessions was a small but moving film that deserves everyone's full attention.… Expand

I found the movie to be tedious. My wife liked it, so my 6 rating is a weak one the film was a 5 for me. Like many who rated this as a quality film, I was unmoved by the premise.

If you are avoiding this movie because it's about a man in an iron lung and a sex therapist, don't. It has everything--humor, intelligence, and universality. The writing has not one false note. And if I ever see a performance as superb as Helen Hunt's, it will probably be given by Helen Hunt.

A fun and quirky story. Just wasn't enough, and not in a good way. I just felt at the end like, "This is it?". Still a very good movie, but I was left unsatisfied as what was presented. Not as good as I originally thought it would be.

Biggest surprise of the year, seen it on a complete whim, and never expected it to be that good! Helen Hunt is amazing and doesn't fail to deliver a very believable performance. the film is written brilliantly, and comes across so real and honest, rather like your watching a documentary. John Hawkes has played this part beautifully and you really do believe this man severely disabled... But, I think this part was written for Sean Penn and the only slight downside to this is John Hawkes does look and sound and act like Penn and it feels he was chosen for his likeness to Penn rather than his talent. The Sessions feels like it wont achieve anything, but after the first 30 minutes it really grips you. All in all a great story made into an even greater film.… Expand

Sensitive & tastefully done story about exploration in an area most of take for granted. Apparently based on the real life experience of a physically disabled person, with a keen & inquisitive mindset and a healthy appetite for life & it's simple pleasures. There are several moving scenes, although the film overall is not really outstanding. Still, it's a story well told & performed flawlessly by almost everyone in the cast. More than worth a look.… Expand

Moving is "The Sessions," even erotic at times, an unexpected development. Viewers exit the theater with a greater sense for all the things that sex means in human life.

The Sessions, starring John Hawkes (Winter's Bone and Martha Marcy May Marlene) and Helen Hunt, is probably the best film I've seen so far this year. Originally titled The Surrogate when it played at the Sundance Film Festival in January and took home a couple of awards, Hawkes plays real-life writer Mark O'Brien, who was confined to a gurney or iron lung for most of his life due to polio. The plot is fairly straightforward: the combination of a lifetime mostly devoid of any intimacy and an upcoming writing job on the sex lives of the disabled leads the 38-year-old O'Brien to hire a sex surrogate named Cheryl (played by Hunt) to help him lose his virginity, with guidance coming from his local priest (played by William H. Macy).

Hawkes is a revelation, delivering a graceful and affecting performance with essentially no physicality, as he spends the entire film flat on his back and relying almost entirely on his facial performance and voice, which he affects with a slightly nasally tone. Based on his work here, I believe I'll have to go back and revisit the Oscar-nominated performance he gave in Winter's Bone, a film that bored me so much that I bailed out of it about three quarters of the way through. His Mark character is a warm, wickedly funny charmer that will quickly win viewers over (and not out of sympathy for his disability). Occasional voice-overs where Hawkes reads selections of O'Brien's poetry (it's not remotely as painful as it might sound) nicely provide some thoughtful extra insight into his worldview, mostly involving the topic of love. The path leading up to his decision to hire the surrogate introduces us to Macy's fantastic Father Brendan character, who gives Mark his blessing and becomes a source of counsel, friendship, and laughs throughout the rest of the film. Mark also gets encouragement from his two caregivers, including one played in an excellent supporting performance from Moon Bloodgood. Hunt, who has appeared less onscreen in recent years to focus more on directing and theatre work, matches Hawkes' standout work step-for-step, instilling a dignity and compassion to Cheryl as she educates Mark in the ways of physical intimacy. Those teachings tastefully deconstruct the act of sex and all the awkwardness and uncertainty that goes along with it (she also bravely appears completely nude quite a few times). Slivers of Cheryl's home life with her son and husband (played by Adam Arkin) offer just enough of a look into her own growing conflict, which I won't spoil here. Director/writer Ben Lewin, a polio survivor himself, has crafted one of those rare knockout cinematic pieces of work that'll hit you about halfway through watching just how special it is. His efforts and a number of first-rate performances should easily succeed in winning your deep emotional investment in The Sessions, which treats a potentially fragile subject with an admirable maturity and a surprisingly pleasant amount of disarming humour.… Expand