The Sessions (film)
| The Sessions | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Ben Lewin |
| Produced by | Judi Levine Stephen Nemeth Ben Lewin |
| Screenplay by | Ben Lewin |
| Based on |
On Seeing a Sex Surrogate by Mark O'Brien |
| Starring |
John Hawkes Helen Hunt William H. Macy Moon Bloodgood |
| Music by | Marco Beltrami |
| Cinematography | Geoffrey Simpson |
| Edited by | Lisa Bromwell |
|
Production
company |
Such Much Films
Rhino Films |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1 million |
| Box office | $9,138,338 |
The Sessions (originally titled The Surrogate) is a 2012 American independent drama film written and directed by Ben Lewin. It is based on the article "On Seeing a Sex Surrogate" by Mark O'Brien, a poet paralyzed from the neck down due to polio, who hired a sex surrogate to lose his virginity. John Hawkes and Helen Hunt star as O'Brien and sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene, respectively.
The film debuted at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award (U.S. Dramatic) and a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting. Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired the film's distribution rights and released the film in October 2012. The Sessions received highly positive reviews from critics, in particular lauding the performances of Hawkes and Hunt. Hunt was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role at the 85th Academy Awards.
In Berkeley, California in 1988, Mark O'Brien is a poet who is forced to live in an iron lung due to complications from polio. Due to his condition, he has never had sex. After unsuccessfully proposing to his caretaker Amanda, and sensing he may be near death, he decides he wants to lose his virginity. After consulting his priest, Father Brendan, he gets in touch with Cheryl Cohen-Greene, a professional sex surrogate. She tells him they will have no more than six sessions together. They begin their sessions, but soon it is clear that they are developing romantic feelings for each other. Cheryl's husband, who loves her deeply, fights to suppress his jealousy, at first withholding a love poem that Mark has sent by mail to Cheryl, which she eventually finds. After several attempts, Mark and Cheryl are able to have mutually satisfying sex, but decide to cut the sessions short on account of their burgeoning feelings.
...
Wikipedia