A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest.
A charming and gently moving film.
Aided by committed, awards-ready performance, The Sessions transforms ‘taboo’ subject matter into a humorous, humane and uncomplicated pleasure.
It’s a film that eschews easy sentiment and allows some wryness in the face of a fairly gloomy prognosis that Mark calls “my use-by date”.
A witty and moving film.
Ben Lewin's moving drama aims to find humour and humanity wherever it can and it succeeds in doing so, save for a couple of moments in which the script tries too hard to get us on side with O'Brien's quest.
What might have been corny or exploitative turns out instead to be tender and desperately moving.
The sessions themselves are extremely intimate but it’s tender, humane and funny and superbly acted; a simple but affecting parable about experiencing life to the fullest.
Ben Lewin helps steer the film towards being more of an engaging human drama than a self-congratulatory issue movie.
The Sessions can be sugary, but it's likable.
It’s a slighter film than the subject matter might lead you to expect, and Lewin’s direction can be a little gauzy — the affectedly sparse, Arvo Pärt-ish score by Marco Beltrami seems to insist too serenely on the specialness of every moment. Still, it’s a deeply humane and very accessible piece in which the actors engage us fully.
Three days after viewing, the film’s questioning generosity and sense of perspective will still be knocking around your head.
Worth a session.
Formulaic but uplifting, positive and accessible. Fairly graphic sex is handled as tastefully as one is ever likely to see in a crowdpleaser.
Funny, moving, beautifully acted.
All the material is there for a tearjerker stuffed with soaring orchestras and inspiring speeches, but Ben Lewin, the writer-director, has stitched that material into a short, wry, simply shot comedy-drama. It may be tremendously moving in its matter-of-fact candour, but The Sessions is a modest film – and that's quite something when you consider all the nudity.
Sex surrogates: saviours or sinners?
Hollywood tackles sex and disability
Ben Lewin on The Sessions: 'You can reach women without brute force'
Profile: Ben Lewin, director of The Sessions
The Sessions--let's talk about sex
John Hawkes and Helen Hunt talk about putting sex into The Sessions
Interview: John Hawkes
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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