“I resisted going to The Sessions for a while. I liked that it seemed different, but it came off as a bit too sappy for my tastes. But the Oscar buzz for this film has been building, and I am easily swayed by such things. I can see why they’re talking it up.
Here we’ve got the story of a heavily disabled man who is determined to lose his V card with the help of a sex surrogate. Going into the film, I was expecting that a lot of the focus would be on his disability. Mark, played by John Hawkes, is confined to an iron lung for most of the hours of the day, and can’t move anything below his neck. But he is one of the most charismatic and sweet and funny characters I’ve encountered. As the film progresses, and you’re drawn into his story, you almost forget that he’s differently-abled. When he spends the entire film immobile in bed, that’s quite a feat. And for that, Hawkes gets my vote in the Best Actor category, over current front runner Daniel Day-Lewis.
He had a good supporting cast as well. I didn’t have the highest hopes for Helen Hunt. She’s just never done it for me. But I thought she was incredible. She was the caring and patient therapist, but with very human qualities behind her more clinical game face. However, for me, William H Macy is the one that truly stole the show. He was just such a fun play off against Hawkes. The two showed a strong and supportive friendship, that you just wanted to be a part of.
This film was so special and so sweet, I’m really glad I was finally compelled to go see it. It’s so unlike anything else, but it was full of the kind of quirks and fun that I love. Guess you find some of the best characters in the most unexpected places sometimes.
The Sessions – \m/ \m/ \m/ \n