The Sessions is based on the real-life story of poet/journalist Mark O’Brien. O’Brien (John Hawkes) is 38, but has spent most of his life inside an iron lung after a bout with polio as a young boy left his muscles unusable. While he still has feeling in his entire body, Mark is only able to move his head—but he doesn’t let that limit his lifestyle.

Mark finds himself falling for his attendant Amanda (Annika Marks), but she is not interested in him in that way, and so he moves on. When an opportunity arises for Mark to write an article on people with disabilities having sex, he decides it is finally time for him to experience physical love. Mark’s therapist suggests that he see a sex surrogate, but he wants to first seek the advice and approval of his priest (William H. Macy).

With Father Brendan’s blessing (so-to-speak), O’Brien sets up the first of his six sessions with sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene (Oscar-nominated Helen Hunt)—a soccer mom with a husband and a somewhat stagnant marriage. The rest of the film tells the funny, touching, inspiring and often awkward story of Mark learning to love and of the relationship that evolves between Cheryl and Mark. While Cheryl teaches Mark how to be a man, he reminds her about what love is all about.

You wouldn’t think a film in which the main character spends pretty much the entire film on his back and only moving his head would be that entertaining. However, John Hawkes is charming as Mark O’Brien. O’Brien’s always-positive attitude toward life despite his condition is inspirational. Hawkes has great chemistry with everyone he shares the screen with—from William H. Macy and Helen Hunt to the actors who play Mark’s attendants, Vera (Moon Bloodgood) and Rod (W. Earl Brown).

The movie itself is quite funny, and this is evident from the first time Mark meets with his priest to get his approval to have sex outside of marriage. The scene is both fun and heartwarming—Father Brendan’s internal struggle between going with the rules of his collar and doing what he knows is right in his heart is played perfectly, with the right dramatic and comedic timing. It is also fun to see William H. Macy play this character that’s pretty much the polar opposite of his character on Shameless. This humor continues throughout the film as Mark returns to the church each week to recount the events of his latest session to Father Brendan—each time we see the priest’s internal conflict of being proud of Mark versus how the collar should make him react.

There is also this awkward humor in the sessions themselves. Cheryl’s frank, explicit, but almost clinical manner in which she describes what she wants Mark to do to her, or what she is going to do to him leads to some awkward but humorous situations. Although, I can imagine these scenes could be really uncomfortable to watch depending who is watching the film with you—I would never want to watch this with my parents! Helen Hunt holds nothing back in her performance—she literally strips down completely for the camera.

There is also a lot of heart to the film as we see Mark grow, and the relationships that he forms with Cheryl, Father Brendan, and his attendants.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film. It was a nice blend of humor and drama, with great performances, and an uplifting message of hope, and positivity.

What’s Included:

Film (1:35:07)
Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1, French DD 5.1, Portuguese (Brazil) DD 5.1, Russian DTS 5.1, Czech DD 5.1, Hungarian DD 5.1, Polish DD 5.1, Turkish 5.1 (and more)
• English SDH, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Turkish, Chinese, Korean (and more) subtitles

Digital Copy:

• Ultraviolet Digital Copy (Vudu or Flixster)

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes (3:34)
  Two deleted scenes. In the first, “Cheryl and Son”, Cheryl explains her emotions over the poem she received to her son. And the second, “Can Can Fantasy”, is another one of Mark’s fantasy segments in which Can Can dancers perform for hospital patients.
• Writer/Director Ben Lewin Finds Inspiration (4:01)
  Writer/Director Ben Lewin talks about stumbling upon Mark O’Brien’s article about seeing a sex surrogate, and about how he got all of his own family members involved in the making of the film. The actors, William H. Macy, Moon Bloodgood, Helen Hunt and John Hawkes, discuss what it was working with Lewin.
• John Hawkes Becomes Mark O’Brien (4:26)
  Actor John Hawkes talks about the humorous aspects of the film, and the physical demands of his role. The director, producers, and co-stars Helen Hunt, William H. Macy, Annika Marks and Moon Bloodgood discuss what it was like working with John.
• Helen Hunt As The Sex Surrogate (4:13)
  The cast and creators discuss sex surrogates and meeting the original Cheryl Cohen-Greene—who is also interviewed in this segment.
• A Session With The Cast (3:50)
  Interviews with the cast and creators mixed with some behind the scenes footage.
• The Women Who Loved Mark O’Brien (4:24)
  The cast talk about the various relationships in Mark O’Brien’s life.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:26)
• Sneak Peek
  Trailers for “Stoker”, The Blu-ray Experience, “Hitchcock”, “The Oranges”, and “A Late Quartet”

Final Thoughts:

The picture and sound quality of this blu-ray were pretty much pristine. However, the extra features are a little on the slim side—they really only consist of about 20 minutes of interviews with the cast and crew and two deleted scenes. While the interviews were interesting, it would have been nice to see more deleted scenes, a gag reel or have an audio commentary.

That said, the movie itself is quite funny and entertaining, and definitely worth checking out. Although, due to the subject matter, nudity and language, the R-rating is rightfully deserved and should be taken into consideration if planning to watch with younger viewers.