The Sessions (MA). Director: Ben Lewin. Starring: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, Wiliam H. Macy.
Mark (Hawkes), a charming and witty poet and journalist, is commissioned to write a feature about disability and sexuality. Himself a quadriplegic and a virgin, Mark's encounters with people who speak candidly about how disability hinders or enhances their sexual activity, stir his own romantic and sexual frustration.
He visits a therapist who suggests he meet with a 'sex surrogate', a woman who provides specialised sexual services. A devout Catholic, Mark first gains the approval of his local priest, Fr Brendan (Macy), then begins a series of sessions with the surrogate, Cheryl (Hunt). His interactions with her form the bulk of the film.
There is no doubt this is a human dignity issue for Mark. He reports to Brendan the humiliation of ejaculating involuntarily while being bathed. His decision to engage Cheryl's services comes only after his most recent attempt at initiating a romantic relationship. For Mark, the emphasis of his coital longing is on physical intimacy.
It is a weakness of the film that the priest is played mostly for comedic value. The sight of respected character actor Macy sporting a dorky mullet hairdo elicits only laughter. At one point Brendan shows up at Mark's house attired in sweaty lycra and headband, apparently having decided to pop in for a visit while out for a jog.
The character is a clown, not a 'fool' whose corny exterior belies his wisdom. When Mark first approaches him for advice, Brendan merely gazes momentarily at a crucifix on the wall before advising him to 'go for it'. During the film he mostly offers platitudes or looks uncomfortable as Mark recounts his encounters with Cheryl.
These scenes represent a missed opportunity to give weightier consideration to otherwise unspoken ethical questions, such as whether it is ever ethically defensible for a woman to be paid for sex — which might be seen to inherently exploit her — in the service of another's dignity (even that of a person with a disability).
The film is not concerned with this question and in truth does not suffer much for it. Cheryl is portrayed as a character with her dignity intact, in control of her encounters with Mark and demanding he respect her person and her privacy. Sex, as she teaches it to him, is a shared act between two equals,