Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Though a childhood bout with polio left him dependent on an iron lung, Mark O'Brien maintains a career as a journalist and poet. A writing assignment dealing with sex and the disabled piques Mark's curiosity, and he decides to investigate the possibility of experiencing sex himself. When his overtures toward a caregiver scare her away, he books an appointment with sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene to lose his virginity.
The Sessions is elevated primarily by its performances — John Hawkes delivers a remarkably nuanced, physically demanding turn as Mark O'Brien, and Helen Hunt earned her Oscar nomination through committed, unguarded work as the sex surrogate. The premise is genuinely unusual and treated with warmth and candor rather than exploitation, giving it a modest novelty edge. The plot, however, is fairly episodic and thin beyond its central conceit, relying heavily on charm and authenticity rather than dramatic architecture. Cinematography is functional and unremarkable — the confined spaces (iron lung, small rooms) are handled competently but without visual imagination. The ending is emotionally affecting but somewhat expected given the true-story arc, landing with gentle grace rather than power.