The Sessions Review

I watched The Sessions like a week ago, and decided I would review it since it was nominated for a few Golden Globes and an Oscar. So, why the hell not? The movie is based on the true story of Mark O'Brien (played by John Hawkes), a quadriplegic, who hires a sex surrogate, Cheryl Cohen-Greene (played by Helen Hunt), in order to lose his virginity.

The performances in this movie really stand out as the best parts, which isn't to say that everything else was bad, but I'll get to that. Hawkes and Hunt had such great chemistry together and all of their scenes were really well acted. Hawkes did such an amazing job, especially given the fact that he had to show all of his emotion using just his head (and his voice.) A lot of his acting came from his line delivery, which was excellent. I'm really glad he's getting recognition for this film, because what he did took a lot of talent (though, I'm not super upset he didn't get an Oscar nod.) Hunt, on the other hand, fully deserved her Oscar nod. Her character in the movie is so multi-layered and just when you think you understand her, she reveals something new. I never really thought Hunt was a great actress, but this was an excellent show of her abilities (not to mention her entire body.)

Other than the excellent acting, the movie was pretty well put together. The direction was nothing special, save for a few scenes between Hawkes and Hunt (especially their first session.) The writing was pretty good, there were some great jokes in the film that made me chuckle, but nothing phenomenal.

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Overall, this film was really well done. The script was strong, but not nearly as strong as the performances that brought it to life. Hawkes, Hunt and even William H. Macy really made the film what it was. I would suggest anyone see this movie (unless you find the idea of Helen Hunt naked scary, because she is naked for half of all her scenes.)

Writing: 7/10

Directing: 6.5/10

Acting: 8.5/10

Pacing: 7/10

Rewatchability: 7/10

Score: 7.2/10