The Sessions (2012)

The Sessions (R) - Review

"Hot and Heavy (My Iron Lung)"

A crippled man begins to regret the lack of a love life, and with the advice of his church and his colleagues and armored with a sly wit, embarks upon the thorny paths of love and sex and mortality.

The true life story of Mark O'Brien, a polio stricken poet who cannot be far from his iron lung for too long.  He is a challenging role played with absolute brilliance by John Hawkes (Winter's Bone).  Equally courageous is his sex surrogate he begins to see Cheryl Coen-Green (Helen Hunt, beautifully cast), a middle aged mother and wife.  How anything this awkward and embarrassing, the disabled and their oft disregarded human needs, can come across so light and funny is a tribute to Hawkes and Hunts chemistry and unselfishness (and in no small part to the poet O'Briens prose, which offers stellar insight into an artistic man trapped in an uncooperative body).  Rounding out the cast is a fave, William H. Macy, as O'Brien's priest who must take confession and live vicariously in equal measures.

The Sessions is touching without being touchy feely, has pure real emotions without all the focus group mumbojumbo and achieves a frank openness about sexuality that might have caused picket lines among the semi-prudish if it's charm wasn't so endearing with a quick disarming wit.  The Sessions elicit high marks.

8 Gurney Gropes out of 10 (GREAT)