7/12/2013

"In this therapy they don´t only talk..."

Title: The Sessions
Year: 2012
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Directed by Ben Lewis
Writer: Ben Lewis (written by), Mark O `Brien (from his article:" On Seeing a Sex Surrogate ")
Runtime: 95min
Cast: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy, Moon Bloodgood, Annika Marks, Robin Weigert
Produc.: Fox Searchlight Pictures, Such Much Films, Rhino Films
Budget: $1 million approx.

In The Sessions, Mark (John Hawkes) is a quadriplegic, suffering from polio, who decides to hire the services of a sexual surrogate to stop being a virgin. 
Ben Lewis wrote and directed this adaptation of the essay "On Seeing a Sex Surrogate" of the actual Mark O `Brien, to be captivated by the described experience, after he had survived the disease himself. 
When, as a child, he contracted polio, the life expectancy he was given was of a few months. 38 years later Mark had, however, overcome the odds. 
Mark O’Brien, described in the film as sympathetic and optimistic, had managed to be a poet and a journalist, despite being paralyzed from the neck down. Unlike what many might think, even depending on a caretaker and an iron lung, he was not of the idea of killing himself. 
One day, in which he and Amanda (Annika Marks), his new caretaker, went together to a store, right there he asked her to marry him, proposal that she rejected. Although he dared to ask, he already knew that no one took a quadriplegic as a partner, and, in the same way, no one would sleep with one. Aware of this, of his condition, and of that his days were probably numbered, Mark thought that at least he would like to lose his virginity. Now aware of the existence of sexual surrogates, what remained for him to solve was the moral issue. 
Born into a Catholic family, Mark believed in the word of God, according to which, having sex prior to marriage was a sin. Still, given his condition, he did not see that anyone would love him as a husband. Then, if he wanted to do it, he would first have to talk to someone qualified in this area. In that way he will meet Father Brendan (William H. Macy). 
As pointed out by the movie, Mark was known to have an attitude and a sense of humor, perhaps, not expected in someone dependent on an iron lung. A man to whom Amanda herself, would come to tell him how much she loved him, and how much he made her laugh, because those were the feelings he aroused in people. Or also, capable of making Susan (Robin Weigert), a hospital volunteer, fall in love with him, when he thought that, from his position, he was not a possible candidate. 
As the title suggests, we see the sessions that take place between Mark and his therapist Cheryl (Helen Hunt), which is why there is, indeed, a minimum of eroticism, but rather suggested than anything else. In fact, unlike the truly erotic or pornographic cinema, the director here seeks only to show us the perspective of the disabled person. 
However, the director neither misses the opportunity to subtly criticize the church. So, premarital sex is a sin? says Lewis. Okay, but what about those who, for reasons of force majeure, will never be able to get marry? Will God then deny to them, the possibility of sex? 
Although it is a drama, every time Mark talks with one of the other characters, it can be seen a tone of comedy. One of the best examples is when Mark asks Brendan for approval on using a surrogate. I think it is inevitable to see as funny this indecisive Brendan that makes a pause, looks at the parish´s cross and then responds that, God will have to grant him a free pass. 
Then when Mark begins with his weekly sexual activity, every appointment with Cheryl goes on to become a new story, and with luxury of details to tell Brendan, and it is funny to hear him talking about their most private moments. 
Ben Lewis clearly seeks to separate religion from sex, with a Mark eager to sleep with a woman, and whose wishes have nothing to do with any deity. Beliefs or no beliefs involved, what he wants is to enjoy a unique enjoyment, which can only be done by two people. It would be sad to think that the only way to access it, without offending the one on top and not being married, would be to be, as Mark, a complicated case. 

My rating: 7/10


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