MARK O'BRIEN was a poet and journalist who died shortly before
his 50th birthday in 1999. He is probably best known for his
article "On Seeing a Sex Surrogate", and a short Oscar-winning
documentary based on his life. These form the source of a new film,
The Sessions (Cert. 15).
What gives O'Brien (played by the Winter's Bone actor
John Hawkes) an interesting twist is that this polio victim's
yearning for sexual intimacy was seriously frustrated through his
being paralysed from the neck downwards. There have been several
earlier feature films concerning disablement which dealt with the
subject (Going Home, Born on the Fourth of July, Inside I'm
Dancing, etc.), but none quite like this, with the dilemma
facing a devout man whose carnal desires appear to have no
acceptable expression compatible with Christian ethics.
A sympathetic Father Brendan (the ubiquitous William H. Macey)
encourages him to pursue his longings. "In my heart I feel [God
will] give you a free pass on this one." So there we have a popular
box-office combination: sex and religion. It is also a favoured
cinematic trope to depict Roman Catholic clergy, like this one, as
rule-breaking benefactors. Given how many real-life eccentrics
there are, I wonder why in the cinema this quality is rarely
accorded to the Anglican clergy. Peter Sellers, as the Revd John
Smallwood in Heavens Above! (1963), is the only one I can
think of who adopts loving but unconventional solutions to life's
problems.
I am unaware whether what Mark is then offered by way of a
remedy in this American film is also available over here on the
NHS. Mark is allocated, for a limited number of sessions, Helen
Hunt (As Good As It Gets) in the form of a sexual
surrogate, in and out of bed with him. And, while the topic may
sound an irresistible temptation for filmmakers to satisfy prurient
viewers, The Sessions is, if anything, a little too coy,
hastily foreclosing on scenes of a sexual nature.
These usually give way to sessions of a different kind;
post-coital counselling with Father Brendan. In both cases,
therapist and pastor provide credible pathways along which Mark can
discover not simply the joy of sex, but the experience of loving
and, ultimately, being loved with all his heart, soul, and
strength.
There occurs the perhaps inevitable transference between
therapist and client which needs to be worked through, and becomes
the prelude to an enduring love that lasts way beyond the strictly
controlled number of sessions with professionals.
The director, Ben Lewin, is not without knowledge of the
subject, having been through polio himself. Possibly that is why he
dares to bring some comic touches to what is, overall, a sad, but
heart-warming story of love to the loveless shown.
On release.