We have just come home from seeing the film The Sessions starring John Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William H. Macy. This is a movie about a man who is severely disabled from polio making the decision that it is time to explore his sexuality. Helen Hunt plays a sex surrogate, Hawkes plays the disabled man, and William H. Macy plays the priest who listens to Hawkes’ thoughts and feelings about this process.
The film is sensitive and touching and deals effectively and graphically with what happens in sessions between a sex surrogate and a client. Hunt is naked in several scenes in the movie and there is not only open talk about sex, but several fairly graphic sex scenes. All of this is done tastefully, and while the sexual aspect of the story is an essential element of the story, the real focus is on the emotional experience of Hawkes and Hunt.
One fun aspect of the film for me personally is that all the church scenes happen to be shot at my Episcopal church, St. Thomas the Apostle, Hollywood. In the movie, the city is San Francisco and the church is supposed to be Catholic, but anybody who knows St. Thomas will recognize it.
I would highly recommend this movie. It deals with a subject that has gotten almost zero screen-time – the sex lives of the disabled – and handles this topic with great sensitivity. Plus, it is funny. Hawkes’ character has a great sense of humor, as does William H. Macy. Helen Hunt and John Hawkes could both easily be nominated for an Oscar for their performances, they were that good, and you will leave the theater with a feeling of a story well-told.
An extra treat for us is that after the film, the producer and writer came out to answer questions. This is Hollywood, after all, and that is a definite perk of living here. The writer and the producer are husband and wife and told us that their film fared so well at Sundance that it was bought by Fox Searchlight the evening that it premiered. They described the reaction as “a dream come true,” and said they were shocked at the positive reception.
Go see The Sessions if you get the chance. It is well worth the money and will open you eyes to what intimacy issues can be like for so many people with disabilities. This is definitely an excellent film!
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