“The Sessions” is a small, unassuming film which has all of the ingredients people used to go to the movies for: a compelling story filled with intelligent, appealing characters who are written with a real ear for how people talk when they actually have something interesting to say, and acted by an ensemble whose collective excellence may actually make you forget there are actors on the screen (except for the briefest appearance by Rhea Perlman which is far too Rhea Perlman for comfort), elevating the audience to that blissful state where one enters into a cinematic illusion of real life. That the film is also handicapped (so to speak) with a subject (sex and the handicapped) that will likely repel at first mention a great portion of its potential audience is a shame, for though the film leans toward the sexually graphic, in language and idea more than actual explicit carnal action- though there is a extensive nudity that is necessary and not exploitative, for once -it is funny (not vulgar), romantic, sensitive and heartfelt (oddly enough, a description that will probably turn away another substantial chunk of the film’s audience).
To read Mark O’Brien’s original article ‘On Seeing a Sex Surrogate’ as published in The Sun magazine, click the following link to: http://thesunmagazine.org/issues/174/on_seeing_a_sex_surrogate
To read the complete review, click the following link to: https://chandlerswainreviews.wordpress.com/chandlers-trailers-short-bits-for-emerging-cinephiles-and-a-better-america/
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