The Sessions

Mark O'Brien was a normal healthy child until he was striken with polio at age 6 and doomed to a lifetime or relying on others for his basic needs and his life-saving iron lung. The story could end there but O'Brien's brilliant mind and joy of living overcame all obstacles. O'Brien is not exactly paralyzed, he explains. It's his muscles that don't work. He can't move his body below his nexk yet he becomes a writer. He has feeling throughout his body but can't touch a person or object. He has a wonderful mind trapped in a body that has abandoned him.THE SESSIONS delves into one aspect of O'Brien's incredible life and the movie takes us on an incredible journey of life, love and hope. At age 38, O'Brien, with much guilty and anxiety, decides to hire a sex surrogate just to finally experience sex and physical closeness. He later wrote an article about this experience which became the basis of this book.We can look at Mark O'Brien with pity or revulsion, as many people did, or we can see him as an inspiration and a joyous creation from God. O'Brien lived an exceptionally long life, despite his condition, and touched the hearts of many. His was a true story of overcoming or at least accepting the worst obstacles life could give anyone.John Hawkes gives tremendous heart and depth to his portrayal of O'Brien. Hawkes went beyond the norm and refused doubles or special effects and turned his own body into the twisted posture of a polio-stricken O'Brien. Helen Hunt was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Cheryl Cohen-Greene, the real-life sex surrogate that changed O'Brien's life for ever. Hunt shows her remarkable acting talents as the surrogate baring not only her heart and soul for the role but her body in very tasteful but somewhat explicit nude and sex scenes. Both Hawkes and Hunt became their roles and the connection between the actors and the real-life characters is clear.Hawkes endearing speech pattern and smile and humor endears us the O'Brien he portrays. We just want to give Hawkes and O'Brien a loving hug and to relish his delightful humorous take on life and his tragic situation. O'Brien's moral dilema is strengthed by scenes with his parrish priest placed by William H. Macy. Macy's role is important as the Catholic priest helping O'Brien wrestle with his shame and embarassment along with his strong desire to experience sex for the first time. Macy's role could have been much more and somehow the priest seems one-dimensional as he listens to O'Brien's stories about the surrogate. Obviously, there is the connection between the two as far as not having sex, except the priest has made a decision to be celibate. O'Brien is trapped in a body that is not fully functional and any chance of a normal loving relationship with a woman seems impossible.THE SESSIONS will break your heart and inspire you at the same time. There is a sweet sadness to the story that is peppered with hopelessness yet the story is full of hope and joy. It is a remarkable story that the actors and writers brought to the big screen. This fine independent film will keep you thinking and wondering. The priest says God will give O'Brien a "pass" on breaking the rules against pre-martital sex because of O'Brien's predicament. The moral dilemma is heartbreaking since there is no one to blame or judge here.The writers treat the story with gentle humor. Hawkes's take on O'Brien is so lively and full of joy. There is an inspirational tone to the entire film that leaves the viewer curious about O'Brien's lifem along with a bittersweet sense of hope. It is a truly wonderful film.The extras on the film are rather limited and involve Helen Hunt and John Hawkes getting into their roles. There is an interview with the real Cheryl Cohen-Greene who talks very briefly about her career as a sexy surrogate. She never mentiones O'Brien and what relationship that had and how their sessions affected her emotionally. The movie leads us to believe they had a spiritual and emotional connection in their few sessions. Cohen-Greene certainly had an immense effect on O'Brien. A brief feature on the real Mark O'Brien would have been an added plus. We're led to believe he found love the last few years of his life, but did he? THE SESSIONS touches the viewer so deeply that we only want more information on Mark O'Brien and his life. The movie opens with scenes of O'Brien "driving" his bed around Berkeley but there is no mention if this is actual footage or not. Truly a remarkable film that leaves so many questions unanswered and has the viewer wanting more.

The Sessions is a 2012 biopic starring John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, and William Macy. Based on an episode in the life of poet and journalist Mark O’Brien, this feel-good movie traces the experience of O'Brien (played by Hawkes), a polio survivor living in an iron lung and dependent on full-time care, as he has his first significant sexual experience with a sexual surrogate, Cheryl Cohen Greene (played by Helen Hunt). Following the course of several “sessions” with Greene, the film offers viewers an intimate look at the sexual awakening of a thoughtful, seriously disabled man in his late 30s, sharing with the viewer the relations between the surrogate and O'Brien and also including the way this experience is shared with O'Brien’s closest friends and caregivers. The result is a charming movie, the sexual excitement and trepidation of adolescence reframed by the psychological and intellectual maturity of the film's subject.Based on O'Brien’s essay, “On Seeing a Sexual Surrogate,” there are many things the film gets right …At the same time, The Sessions also relies to some extent on established tropes of disability, leading to some especially troubling narrative choices...Viewers interested in The Sessions should also follow up not only by reading O'Brien’s essay but also by watching the documentary film of O'Brien's life, Breathing Lessons.

Proof that there are all kinds of `true stories' to be told; `The Sessions' is a very different kind of biopic. Telling the story of Mark O'Brien, `The Sessions' is a sweet hearted look at one man's struggle to lose his virginity.Mark is a paralyzed poet who spends most of his time in an iron lung and has limited communication with people outside of his helpers and his priest. Mark eventually decides that he wants to have sexual relations with a woman and so, with the support from his priest he decides to contact a sex therapist. That is when he meets Cheryl. Cheryl is a middle aged woman who serves as a sex surrogate. She'll give Mark six sessions where he can explore his sexuality with Cheryl and eventually have relations with her. That will be his introduction to the world of sex, and from there he is on his own. Being nervous and inexperienced, and being in a condition that isn't always accommodating, his first few sessions don't pan out as expected, but eventually he gets the hang of things.The great thing about `The Sessions' is that it really steers far away from being overtly sympathetic. It never demands that we mourn over Mark's condition. Instead, we celebrate his freedoms and the way that he handles his predicament, never making it a sore spot or allowing it to hold him back. His supreme optimism in the face of the unknown is admirable, and the light hearted approach to his plight helps put things in perspective. I also found both John Hawkes and Helen Hunt to be delightful here, especially Hunt, who manages to ease herself (and the audience) into every scene.Such a natural performance.I do wish that `The Sessions' felt a bit heavier in parts. The light hearted tone, while effective in not being reduced to the expected, also becomes a tad overdone to the point where the impact of this particular story is deadened in the end. When all is said and done, it leaves the audience with a bit of `is that what this was all about', and that wasn't expected. Still, I recommend this because it approaches a very taboo subject from a different vantage point and serves up an inspiring story we could all learn from.

Wonderful performances by all the actors in this true life story about a severely disabled man who seeks the assistance of a professional therapist to help with the loss of his virginity and to experience some intimacy with the opposite sex. Very moving and thought provoking.

A very entertaining movie. No not because Helen Hunt gets her kit off but the story is sweet and touching. We forget that there is a person behind the facade that needs to be held and loved, though the disability create such an overhead that most people cannot cope. Btw... He had more girls than I did... So good on him

A very moving film about a profoundly disabled man who wants to lose his virginity. You'd think it would be depressing, but it was funny and touching and heart-warming instead. Great acting and great script. I saw it on tv but have bought it for my parents for Christmas because it's so good!

Great film about an unusual subject - it doesn't get enough airtime, but I imagine that the majority of the audience would be empathic with subject anyway, so could be preaching to the converted. Nonetheless, beautifully done and if it gets people discussing such an important issue as well as being entertained - win, win

Brilliant film with amazing performance from Helen Hunt!!