Tell me a story

You might not know the story of Mark O’Brien. I didn’t. He was a poet and a journalist, and as a child he had polio. It left him unable to move any part of his body below the neck. He still had feeling in all of his body; his muscles just didn’t work properly, which meant he couldn’t breathe on his own, which meant he spent most of his days inside a negative pressure ventilator, a.k.a. an iron lung. Still he attended and completed college, attended graduate school for a spell, and became a writer. Amazing, right? Even more amazing is how he was able to write. He used this thing called a mouth stick, which is exactly what it sounds like: a stick in his mouth, with which he would push down keys on a typewriter set in front of his face. I know we say humans are adaptable, but I don’t think you ever realize how true that is until you see people in the worst circumstances not only surviving, but living.

Mark’s life was full. He had a career. He had caretakers that were also his friends. They took him out for walks using his mobile bed. He was doing the best he could in this world just like anybody else. And then, just like anybody else, he fell in love. He’d hired a new caretaker, a beautiful, younger woman, who treated him nicely, appreciated his sense of humor, and made him yearn. But his love was not returned, at least not in the way he desired. And while it was heartbreaking for him, it made Mark realize something very important: he wanted to have sex. The Sessions tells the real-life story of how a bed-ridden Mark O’Brien attempted to lose his virginity at the age 36 using a sex surrogate.

The real Mark O’Brien

John Hawkes as Mark O’Brien

Sex surrogates offer sexual therapy to those with sexual problems. They usually have a professional certification in psychology, counseling or sexuality. Sometimes they work in tandem with a patient’s regular therapist. They’re not prostitutes. The sex surrogate and client spend a lot of time talking, they do therapeutic exercises, they practice intimacy, they practice relaxation. If necessary they have sex.

A devout Catholic, Mark (played by the wonderful John Hawkes) knows he should be married before he has intercourse, but he doesn’t know that he ever will be married. No woman has ever loved him in that kind of way. At a moral impasse, he enlists the advice of his local priest, Father Brendan (played by William H. Macy). And after some debate with the priest and with himself, Mark finally decides to go ahead with it.

The surrogate that Mark hires is a married woman and a mother named Cheryl (played by Helen Hunt). From the moment the two meet, any thoughts that what they’re doing is dirty or immoral vanishes. Cheryl is extremely professional. She enters the situation with the goal of helping this man in need. She’s patient, warm and caring, which is just what Mark needs because he has a lot of anxiety and self-esteem issues when it comes to sex. And then of course genuine feelings start to develop.

What I liked most about The Sessions is that it allowed me to explore two parts of the human experience that I’d been unfamiliar with: polio victims and sex surrogates. Knowing little to nothing about either, it was a pleasure to get a peek into their world.

John Hawkes gives a great performance. His only real acting tools here are his face and his voice. And with only those tools, he creates an interesting and empathetic character. He gives Mark a sharp sense of humor, which is also a credit to the script-writer. Though the movie covers heavy topics, it’s surprisingly funny.

Helen Hunt is both sweet and bold in this movie. She’s plays Cheryl openly and honestly (despite the spotty Boston accent she uses). And kudos to the director to keeping the movie classy. There is plenty of nudity, but it’s never for the sake of titillation.

William H. Macy makes Father Brendan a real person. You (or maybe it’s just me) tend to imagine priests as these overly pious guys who spend all their free time reading the Bible and thinking about their Lord, but Father Brendan is just a regular guy. He drinks alcohol, he cracks jokes. He’s a sympathetic ear for Mark. He’s a friend.

The movie does a good job of showing how equally important Mark’s sexual desires and religious beliefs are. His sessions with Cheryl are often juxtaposed against his conversations with Father Brendan. In their own ways, both people are helping him, healing him. They both make his life better for being in it.

Yet this isn’t a perfect movie. After watching it I felt like The Sessions was lacking in something, but I couldn’t decide just what that thing was. Even while writing this review I couldn’t name it. Then I read a review in The Eagle Tribune titled “Hawkes shines, but emotion is dull, in ‘The Sessions‘” and I realized the movie is kind of dull. The premise is interesting as hell, and John Hawkes gives an amazing performance, but the movie doesn’t grab you. The pacing is just a little too slow, and the story doesn’t build to the strong emotional peak that it needs. I mean this is a movie with sex at its center; you all but need to have a strong climax here, but the climax is anything but. Maybe the film is factually and emotionally honest in respect to the real Mark O’Brien’s story, but as a movie, it’s not as fulfilling as it should be. Yet, I’d still recommend it and I commend writer and director Ben Lewin for making this film.

The Sessions
Writer and Director: Ben Lewin (As Director: Ally McBeal, Touched by an Angel)