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    The Sessions

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    "The Sessions" is a touching, thought-provoking film that deals frankly with the subject of sex. Glancing at the story you might think that it's preachy, even depressing but it's far from it. This is a lively, intelligent film made for adults.

    Based on a true story, the plot follows Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes), a poet who is forced to spend much of his time in an iron lung. He can still feel his body (so he feels cold and pain) but is immobile and requires near-constant supervision. O’Brien has never had sex and feels that before he dies he should lose his virginity. Sensing that his life is coming to a close, he decides to hire a professional sex surrogate.

    What you will get from watching the film is a profound appreciation and understanding for the very human desire to have sex. Whether you settle down with a single partner, lead a promiscuous lifestyle or even decide to be celibate, the decision is a very personal one and something that everyone can relate to. Seeing O'Brien struggle with this subject you'll realize how important that choice is. Despite the fact that he's surprisingly cheerful (I don’t know if I could be if I were in his position), intelligent and even handsome, he isn't capable of having a traditional relationship. This movie is about this man making a decision to do something that we take for granted.

    “The Sessions” made me think a lot, particularly of those silly discussions I’ve had in the past whenever I was dating someone. I’m sure you’ve had them too, that talk where you ask your boyfriend/girlfriend about whether they would stay with you if you got into a car accident and lost a limb or got burned in a fire and lost your hair or got caught in a teleportation accident and wound up as a half human, half fly creature. Thinking about a theoretical situation and living it are very different things. It's not that falling in love with O’Brien is impossible, it's that the very idea is overwhelming. You see his character try and develop a relationship with a woman only for her to run away at the thought of living with a man that doesn't even own any furniture and hasn't slept in a bed in decades. The guy is a true underdog but with his witty comments, sharp writing, and smart attitude, the film doesn’t become a sappy story about a man who will never know love. It becomes an adventure, a David and Goliath story that will have you cheering.

    The movie handles its characters and ideas intelligently. O'Brien isn't some saint that comes along and illuminates everyone's lives, he's just a regular guy that happens to be incapable of moving. He's got moments where he's conflicted, he gets nervous about having sex, he gets excited over writing love letters and disappointed when things don't turn out the way he wants them to. The supporting characters are just as well developed. Helen Hunt plays sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene. I found her character fascinating. She’s a professional that knows how strange her job title is, the need to keep things unemotional, but also knows how important she can be to the people she sees. The “relationship” that develops between her and O’Brien is wonderfully refreshing. As is William H. Macy’s character, our hero’s best friend: Father Brendan. I didn’t know where he was going at first, so I kept a close eye on him. There’s an eye-opening, unique friendship there. We have a man who decided to give up sex to be closer to God talking to O’Brien, a man that is incapable of having sex. The two have a lot of good moments together and their friendship is completely genuine. Two other characters worth noting are the clerk at the hotel where the titular sessions take place and O’Brien’s caretaker, who have some great moments throughout the film.

    "The Sessions" is part feel-good movie and part something else. I guess I’d say love story, but it’s not quite that either. It’s the opposite of those greasy 80’s sex comedies like Porky’s that trivialized sex and tossed around nudity as a substitute for jokes. You haven't seen anything like it. The ideas swirling around my mind as this plot unfolded were easily worth the price I paid for the film on Blu-ray. It's hard not to get emotional during The Sessions, even if it doesn’t quite rise up to the level of being a flawless film. You won't think of sex the same way after seeing The Sessions and for that reason alone, it's worth your time. (On Blu-ray, July 11, 2013)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  17.8.2016 age: 26-35 2,866 reviews

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