The Sessions (2012)
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Reviews Counted: 183
Fresh: 172 | Rotten: 11
Tender, funny, and touching, The Sessions provides an acting showcase for its talented stars and proves it's possible for Hollywood to produce a grown-up movie about sex.
Average Rating: 8/10
Critic Reviews: 44
Fresh: 41 | Rotten: 3
Tender, funny, and touching, The Sessions provides an acting showcase for its talented stars and proves it's possible for Hollywood to produce a grown-up movie about sex.
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Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 19,042
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Movie Info
Based on the poignantly optimistic autobiographical writings of California-based journalist and poet Mark O'Brien, The Sessions tells the story of a man confined to an iron lung who is determined - at age 38 - to lose his virginity. With the help of his therapists and the guidance of his priest, he sets out to make his dream a reality. -- (C) Fox Searchlight
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Cast
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John Hawkes
Mark -
Helen Hunt
Cheryl -
Moon Bloodgood
Vera -
Annika Marks
Amanda -
Rhea Perlman
Mikvah Lady -
Adam Arkin
Josh -
William H. Macy
Father Brendan -
W. Earl Brown
Rod -
Robin Weigert
Susan -
Blake Lindsley
Dr. Laura White -
Ming Lo
Clerk -
Jennifer Kumiyama
Carmen -
Rusty Schwimmer
Joan -
Jimmy Martinez
Matt -
Tobias Forrest
Creg -
Jarrod Bailey
Tony -
Paul Maclean
Young Mark -
Phoebe Lewin
Girl on Beach -
Jonathan Hanrahan
Unicyclist -
Jason Jack Edwards
Waiter -
J. Teddy Garces
Man in Elevator -
Daniel Quinn
E.R. Doctor -
B.J. Clinkscales
Ambulance -
Terry
Cat
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The Sessions Trailer & Photos
All Critics (183) | Top Critics (44) | Fresh (174) | Rotten (11) | DVD (3)
Lewin, who has fought his own lifelong polio battle, handles tricky material with a gentle, empathetic touch.
Top CriticThanks to Lewin's light but assured touch, The Sessions never wears its theological preoccupations heavily, instead allowing transcendence to creep up on the audience quietly.
A very different kind of love story, breaking taboos lightly, with sensitivity and humor.
Achieves its sunny disposition by pulling punches.
A funny, tender and mostly unsentimentalized movie about physical and emotional triumph.
An absolute delight.
What stirs you most is the effortless way Hawkes is able to convey Mark's compassion for people far more fortunate than himself.
Survival isn't enough. Acceptance isn't enough. Mark needs fulfillment.
Strong central performances and an endearing premise smooth over some of the more jagged edges of the script.
Ben Lewin's The Sessions is an emotionally charged film with a smart sense of humor that'll have you tearing up from equal doses of laughter and drama.
While the sex sessions are frank, candid and populated by a constantly-naked Helen Hunt, it's far more warm and feelgood than you might be expecting.
...é motivo de alegria perceber como um homem como Mark O'Brien conseguiu explorar a própria sexualidade mesmo enfrentando a mais brutal e cruel das amarras: não sua doença, mas a crença religiosa.
Sure, it may be Cinemax-style soft-core porn lightly disguised as inspirational drama, but there's plenty of film-snob value here
An unexpected gem: candid, touching and funny.
The Sessions proves unusually candid in its matter-of-fact attitude to both sex and nudity.
(... ) a remarkable film about disability, incapacity and the joy of freedom in the most impossible of situations.
This funny, moving, beautifully acted movie avoids numerous pitfalls.
Satisfaction guaranteed? Pretty much.
It's Hawkes's portrayal, in all its wit, intelligence and childlike naivety, that really captures the heart.
By taking a sensitive, honest approach to this true story, breakthrough filmmaker Lewin both avoids sentimentality and keeps the focus on the inner lives of the central characters.
It's a brave performance from Hunt, who spends much of the film entirely naked. Both her and Hawkes are brilliant in a movie that is a massively uplifting experience.
The movie becomes a touching, often funny portrayal of sex as a form of kindness and human contact.
Hunt is a prodigy. No other actress could have brought such easeful transparency, such a glow of givingness, such heedlessness of glamour each time she strips naked.
Not only does it deal with sex in a straightforward manner, but it also deals with the equally sensitive themes of disability and religion, all of which writer/director Ben Lewin pulls off skilfully.
The Sessions can be sugary, but it's likable.
You could maybe see it working as a play, though the tactile detail of these scenes needs close-ups on the actors' faces to communicate what the transaction means to them both.
Audience Reviews for The Sessions
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Father Brendan: In my heart, I feel He'll give you a free pass on this one. Go for it!
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- Mark: She's the most wonderful person on the planet.
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- Mark: My penis speaks to me Father Brendan.
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Dear Helent Hunt's Breasts... | 3 months ago | 1 |
| gjgjg | 6 months ago | 0 |
Latest News on The Sessions
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Foreign Titles
- The Sessions - Wenn Worte berühren (DE)
- The Sessions (UK)
