When we come across some of the most extraordinary people or find ourselves in the most fortunate situations, we are least looking for those. At times we are presented with the greatest of gifts that, at one point, we could never have imagined and, the next, you can’t imagine how you ever functioned prior. I imagine this is how you might feel when you know you have found your lifelong partner or when you have a child. I’ve had three of these moments in my life. While I have discussed these other two moments very, very infrequently with anyone, there is one that I will share often. It involves my wonderful niece Jessica. Today (February 17, 2013) is her birthday. She just turned 25. She recently married her high school boyfriend. She’s a teacher. Besides me, Jessica is the only teacher in either of our extended families. She is as wonderful of a human being as you will ever meet. She is and has always been so sweet, kind, and intelligent. She’s wise beyond her years but still has this youthful appreciation for life’s little gems. I love her so much and am so proud to be her uncle. I was asked to be an usher at her wedding this past fall, which was one of my life’s great honors. With only a 12-year age gap between us, I do think of her as a little sister as much as I do a niece. I’ll touch on more of this later in this review.

I mention this as I’m writing a review for Ben Lewin’s (Paperback Romance, Georgia) The Sessions because of the way John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone, Lincoln) brings the real-life character of Mark O’Brien to life. Those who meet mark in this wonderfully acted and directed movie are not the same people they were before meeting him as they were after meeting him. The film was as much about all of these wonderful side characters and the impression Mark left on them as the movie was about Mark. He brought out so much in these characters that we wouldn’t have thought too much of otherwise. The way that they react to him when he speaks or writes or even smiles is caught perfectly by Lewin.

Nothing feels rushed. We often think this ultimate compassion towards a situation after first meeting a person and then learning of a circumstance, situation, disease, etc., that a person is going through. Likewise, we can feel an ultimate sense of appreciation towards a person after hearing of their situation and then getting to know the person. In The Sessions, we learn of Mark’s situation way before we get to know him. He has Poliomyelitis (aka Polio) which means he has no real control over the muscles in his body. He’s not fully paralyzed. He can feel things. He has no ability how to use any of his muscles. He lives with an iron lunge for most of his life. He can travel outside his apartment for up to three hours at a time through a personal ventilator. He has individuals (I think two full-time) who care for him during the day. This includes bathing, feeding, taking him to appointments, etc. It isn’t completely explained how he has the money for these things, but this movie is autobiographical, so I didn’t overthink how he got the money for these very costly services.

At 38 years of age, Mark is determined to lose his virginity. He’s a very, very kind-hearted man with a deep sense of doing the right thing. He is a devout Catholic. He wants to hire a sex surrogate with whom he can lose his virginity. But even before considering if this is something he will actively seek to do, he first wants to ask his priest (William H. Macy – The Cooler, Magnolia) what he thinks. I think he’s seeking permission from Father Brendan even though he doesn’t say he won’t do it if the priest doesn’t give him the okay. Mark has a moral compass and is intent on doing the right thing. But he knows his time on earth is limited. We don’t know precisely when he will die, but it is clear early on that this man isn’t going to live into his 50s or 60s. The sex therapist is played by Helen Hunt (As Good As It Gets, Twister), who, at 48 years old at the time of this movie, is still getting it done. Cheryl (Hunt) is naked no less than ten times in this movie. Her job is to make Mark comfortable to the point where the two of them can engage in sexual intercourse.

What’s great about this movie is not the performances in themselves as much, but how each of these characters reacts to Mark. Mark does a great job of winning everyone over with his smile, sincerity, honesty, and optimism, and you cannot help but root for him. The people who meet him in this movie feel the same way. There isn’t one character who dominates the screen. They seem to all share it fairly equally with Mark. Whether it’s Father Brendan, Cheryl, or his attendants like dependable Vera (Moon Bloodgood – Faster, Beautiful Boy), his pal W. Earl Brown (There’s Something About Mary) or the beautiful and sincere Amanda (Annika Marks – Mona Lisa Smile), you feel confident that these people are better off for knowing Mark than if they did not. Mark O’Brien is a likable character, as you’ll find on the big screen in 2012. The tireless John Hawkes has been in the business for over 25 years but is quietly becoming a household name. Once you see this movie, check out Winter’s Bone, a film that earned him his first Oscar nomination.

Relating this to my niece Jessica. I went the first 12 years of my life, never thinking about what it might be like to be an uncle. My younger sister is just four and a half years younger than me, so I hardly knew what it was like to have a baby, then a toddler, then a little kid around who could light up a room and make you feel awesome to be alive. And then all of a sudden, Jessica was born, and I could no longer imagine how I had lived without her. I had no idea what I was missing until she was there. And once she was there, I had no interest in imagining a life in which she would not be part. Mark O’Brien had this same lasting effect on those fortunate to meet and get to know him. At least, that’s how Hawkes portrayed him. Hawkes deserved an Oscar nomination. Now I know that for him to get a nod, I have to remove one of those actors who had been nominated. And it’s also unfair to replace someone if you haven’t seen that performance yet. Fortunately, I have seen all five movies that had a nomination for Best Actor. So I’ll replace Joaquin Phoenix with John Hawkes. Now I thought The Master was a terrible movie. I cannot recommend that in good faith to anyone. I’ve been in the process of writing a review on it for a good two months now, and it’s just not working for me. With that said, the performances (especially that from Phoenix) were outstanding. At the time of this posting, except for Django Unchained, Amour, and Beasts of the Southern Wild, I have probably seen all of the movies from 2012 that I had planned on seeing. With the three that I have not, there wasn’t much buzz for Best Actor. So my five picks would have been very similar to the Academy’s. I would have gone with (in order) Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables), Denzel Washington (Flight), John Hawkes (The Sessions), and Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook).

Plot 9.5/10
Character Development 9.5/10
Character Chemistry 9.5/10 (I thought it was great how some of the male characters in this movie felt intimidated by a man who couldn’t even lift a muscle simply because they knew how much kinder and much more sincere he was than they were)
Acting 9/10
Screenplay 9/10
Directing  10/10
Cinematography 9/10
Sound 10/10 (so, so subtle and so, so perfect)
Hook and Reel 9/10
Universal Relevance 8/10
93%

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