The Sessions: sex leading to emotional intimacy

We usually think of sex as the culminating manifestation of lust and/or romantic love.  The Sessions is an exploration of sex (first) leading to emotional intimacy.

John Hawkes plays a man in an iron lung seeking to lose his virginity to his sex surrogate (Helen Hunt).  The premise may seem farfetched, but it’s based on the life of Mark O’Brien, who survived childhood polio to graduate from UC Berkeley and become a poet and journalist. The kernel of this screenplay was O’Brien’s magazine essay “On Seeing a Sex Surrogate”, and O’Brien was the subject of Jessica Yu’s Oscar-winning Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien.

As I’ve written before, I particularly loathe “disease of the week” movies, but The Sessions is completely untainted by this maudlin genre.  The credit goes to writer-director Ben Lewin, himself a polio survivor, who has made The Sessions more than a movie about sex and a disability.  Lewin has embedded lots of humor, along with genuine emotions.

Hawkes and Hunt will receive Oscar nominations for the kind of performances that the Academy especially loves and rewards.  Hawkes spends the entire movie horizontal on a gurney with his spine contorted by a device the filmmakers labeled “the Torture Ball”.  Equally courageously, Hunt is often naked (really, really naked), frankly leading the couple through simulated sexual acts.

But don’t be put off by the showy aspects of the performances, which are authentic and riveting.  Hawkes, who is best known for his scary and creepy roles in Winter’s Bone and Martha Marcy May Marlene, embodies a witty man who has overcome more than most, but who fears the depths of his own vulnerabilities.  Likewise, Hunt goes very deep to express emotions that take her by surprise.

Beyond Hawkes and Hunt, The Sessions is uniformly well-acted.  I especially enjoyed the performances of William H. Macy as a goofily sympathetic Berkeley parish priest, Moon Bloodgood as a poker-faced but playful caregiver and Ming Lo as an amusingly dense hotel clerk.

Lewin, Hawkes and Hunt have combined to make an uncommonly evocative, funny and thoughtful film.  The Sessions was an audience fave at the Sundance and Toronto film fests.  (Plus it’s a great date movie.)

For Presidents’ Day: the Lincoln movie

Daniel Day-Lewis in LINCOLN

In late December, we’ll see a movie about perhaps the greatest American made by perhaps our greatest filmmaker.    Steven Spielberg is directing Lincoln, based on Doris Kearn Goodwin’s absorbing Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field play the Lincolns.  The dazzling cast includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Jared Harris, Jackie Earle Haley, Hal Holbrook, John Hawkes, James Spader, Bruce McGill, David Straithern, Tim Blake Nelson, Walton Goggins (Justified) and Dakin Mathews (the horse trader in True Grit).

DVD of the Week: Winter's Bone

My pick for 2010’s best movie to date is Winter’s Bone, which is just now available on DVD.  A 17-year-old Ozarks girl is determined to save the family home by tracking down her meth dealer dad – dead or alive.  The girl’s journey through a series of nasty and nastier Southern Missouri crank cookers is riveting – without any explosions, gunfights or chase scenes.  Every moment of this film seems completely real.  Winter’s Bone won the screenwriting and grand jury prizes at Sundance.

With just her second feature, Debra Granik has emerged as an important filmmaker to watch.  She presents an unflinching look at this subculture without ever resorting to stereotype.  Granik hits a home run with every artistic choice, from the locations to the spare soundtrack to the pacing to the casting.  I’ll be watching for her next film.

As the protagonist, 20-year-old Jennifer Lawrence is in every scene.  With a minimum of dialogue, she creates a lead character of rarely seen determination.

Dale Dickey is exceptional as a criminal matriarch.  John Hawkes (the kind Sol Star in Deadwood)  also gives a tremendous performance as the ready-to-explode Uncle Teardrop.

For my recent DVD choices (including trailers), see DVDs of the WeekWinter’s Bone is on my lists of Best Movies of 2010 – So Far and 5 Great Hillbilly Movies.

Winter's Bone

Winter’s Bone is the year’s best live action movie so far.  A 17-year-old Ozarks girl is determined to save the family home by tracking down her meth dealer dad – dead or alive.  The girl’s journey through a series of nasty and nastier Southern Missouri crank cookers is riveting – without any explosions, gunfights or chase scenes.  Every moment of this film seems completely real.  Winter’s Bone won the screenwriting and grand jury prizes at Sundance.

With just her second feature, Debra Granik has emerged as an important filmmaker to watch.  She presents an unflinching look at this subculture without ever resorting to stereotype.  Granik hits a home run with every artistic choice, from the locations to the spare soundtrack to the pacing to the casting.  I’ll be watching for her next film.

As the protagonist, 20-year-old Jennifer Lawrence is in every scene.  With a minimum of dialogue, she creates a lead character of rarely seen determination.

Dale Dickey is exceptional as a criminal matriarch.  John Hawkes (the kind Sol Star in Deadwood) also gives a tremendous performance as the ready-to-explode Uncle Teardrop.