When the Cheshire emerges...

Oh I can't believe I've left this until now! Sorry folks, a much belated review of the week.

I actually have a new to DVD review in lieu of a new release because I was required at a special event last Thursday night - but glad for it because I liked this film...

The Sessions (MA 15+)

UNDERSTANDING disabilities is a task that greatly varies, depending on the person in question and what it is that is preventing them from regular functionality. But while doctors and scientists are quick to research explanations for physical ailments, there are many patients whose emotional needs have been forgotten or not regarded as they should be.

Mark O'Brien knew a thing or two about frustration. Quick-witted and intelligent, he lived most of his life in an iron lung after contracting polio as a six-year-old. But it wasn't until his late 30s that he decided to do something for himself. He fell in love.

For the poet and journalist (here played by John Hawkes) it initially doesn't work out so well, as he finds out about unrequited love the hard way when carer and friend Amanda (Annika Marks) rejects his advances. Mark becomes fixed on the idea that happiness with a woman is out there for him and decides to explore his options after some freelance work leads to sex surrogate Cheryl (Helen Hunt).

With some hesitancy Mark begins to discover some of the human body's most sensual feelings. He's a man haunted by his past and the life he's been forced to live and feels unworthy of being appreciated in a romantic way.

Cheryl, who as a therapist deals with numerous clients, sees Mark's need to be nurtured. But she's a professional, not wanting to mix her work and private lives. There are times when she appears almost cold in her tough love approach as they get started, but it's a reflection of the fear we have within of raw emotion.

Director/writer/producer Ben Lewin, taking material from O'Brien's article On Seeing a Sex Surrogate, has crafted a lovely tale of tender relationships juxtaposed with the harshest of realities. Sex for the disabled is an oft-unacknowledged subject, but Lewin blends lighter moments with the black and white dilemmas of Mark's condition.

Hawkes puts in a caring performance while Hunt, Oscar-nominated for the role, encapsulates the confusion their situation brings the pair in her kind but wary nature. William H Macy's inclusion as a smoking and drinking priest/advice giver suggestively pokes fun at religion, but there's plenty of that underlining Mark's questions and decisions.

A winner at Sundance 2012, Lewin's depiction of a man trying to find his manhood is both heart-rending and celebratory. It's a reminder of our own awkward, emotional selves and how we forget that in some ways everyone really is the same.

Rating: 4/5

*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 13/4/2013

MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of Identity Thief.