*NOTE: This is a reprint of my review from Sundance when the film was known as The Surrogate.*
It's going to be hard for some people to reconcile the magnetic, jovial John Hawkes we are treated to in The Sessions with the psychologically twisted characters he's mastered in Winter's Bone and Martha Marcy May Marlene. The Sessions sees him throwing off the supporting actor shackles under which he's been confined for too long. A smart, funny, poignant film dealing with sex from a perspective that has rarely been explored on screen, and with it's clear lust for life the film seems destined to be a player at the Academy Awards next year. Hawkes might want to start booking his flight now, as well.
The film is based on the life and writings of Mark O'Brien, a witty and intellectually curious man whose body has been paralyzed by polio. Unable to breathe on his own, Mark spends nearly every hour of the day in a massive iron lung, which looks basically like a big metal coffin. The similarities aren't lost on Mark, either, but he's not one for doom and gloom. Self-pity isn't in his vocabulary, and he's managed to get along well, graduating from college in 1978. A romantic at heart, as well as a natural flirt, Mark is easily attracted to the opposite sex, but with his condition he has never known physical love. Although he has virtually no movement over the bulk of his body (he types and makes phone calls using his mouth), he's still able to be aroused, although has no opportunity to put it to good use. Getting older, and reaching an age where people like him tend to die off, Mark decides now might be the time to finally lose his virginity.
A deeply spiritual man who believes God has a "wicked sense of humor"; he reaches out to his priest (William H. Macy) for advice. Given a reluctant thumbs up (God will "give him a pass"), Mark doesn't just send his attendants (Moon Bloodgood and W. Earl Brown) to go trolling for prostitutes. He's instead pointed in the direction of a sexual surrogate named Cheryl (Helen Hunt).
What is a sexual surrogate? Basically, it's someone who is paid to teach another about the act of having sex. Not a prostitute exactly (Cheryl explains it plainly and emphatically why), but more like a therapist. Their initial sessions are awkward, with Cheryl not only acclimating Mark to the body of a woman, but also how to value his own. Always having viewed his own twisted form as some sort of curse, Mark's struggles to learn to love himself prove to be the biggest hurdle. Cheryl only allows six total sessions with any client (part of the "not a prostitute" rule), giving a need for steady and consistent results each time.
The word "brave" is thrown around a lot when actresses of a certain age dare to show their naked bodies on screen, and if that's the case then Helen Hunt is made of sterner stuff than anybody in Hollywood. She's stark naked for about half of the film, and it's that comfort and ease with being so open that we see reflected in Cheryl. It's a completely necessary piece of the puzzle.
Hawkes as well, gives what is a rousing, charismatic performance. In Mark, we have someone who has never felt completely whole, not just because of his handicaps but because of what he feels it's taken away from him. Not just an ability to be loved by others, but to be able to demonstrate love in the ways a man should. As he grows more confident, the bond between them strengthens, and as you might expect, emotions start to get a little fuzzy. What doesn't change is the dramatic impact they have on one another's lives. They force each other to live life to the fullest and in any way that makes you happy, whatever that may entail.
While the film does deal with issues regarding orgasms and erections with maturity, there are times it seemed like something was being held back. Maybe it's my desire to see a unique film like this push some boundaries that would make the MPAA squirm. Tonally, and in terms of story, The Sessions is likely to draw some comparisons to The King's Speech, as it's about one man overcoming a debilitating handicap to achieve some measure of greatness with the help of an unconventional mentor. It's that similarity that led Fox Searchlight to buy the rights to the film for a hefty sum, and with its obvious mainstream appeal there are some questions how the MPAA is going to treat it. The nudity and sexual content will almost certainly net it an 'R' rating, but if perhaps the envelope had pushed just a little further it'd be interesting to see what would have happened.
Far too often it seemed as if achieving widespread appeal was the goal, and so we get only the happy, squeaky clean version of Mark's fight. This is even more apparent in the film's final act, where something unavoidably terrible happens, and rather than deal with it, we get weak voice overs designed to pluck a few heartstrings. Writer/director Ben Lewin has found something funny, honest, and thoughtful in The Sessions, but falls just short of finding something profound.
