Review: THE SESSIONS

This is our belated review of last year's much loved film "THE SESSIONS".

The title doesn't tell us much about the film, and we feel obligated to tell you it is a movie for adults, so keep the kiddies at home for this one.

John Hawkes and Helen Hunt play 'Mark' and 'Cheryl' respectively. The first is a man who had Polio when he was a kid; this caused him to be almost paralyzed from the neck down and in need of an artificial lung in order to survive. The second is a "professional" escort, who, since she is also a therapist, analyzes her clients after she has encounters with them.

'Mark' has been a virgin for all of his 38 years, but decides that it is time to give sex a chance, so he asks the preacher at his church for advice, who in return does so, not as a spiritual guide, but as a best friend.

The relation between 'Mark' and 'Cheryl' leads them to explore both physical and emotional situations with unexpected results.

The performances by John Hawkes and Helen Hunt are top-notch; they both put every part of themselves on their respective characters and thus leave no doubt that they took part in this production for the love of art and not a millionaire paycheck.

William H. Macy plays the character of the preacher and he did a simple but well-achieved job doing so.

The film didn't break any box office records, however it did receive some Oscars love back on March. It won't be a movie you'll recommend to everyone you know, but you will definitely enjoy it.