Movie

The Sessions

2012 · 95 min

A tender, funny, and frank look at intimacy and mortality, anchored by warm performances and an unassuming, life-affirming spirit.

Directed by: Ben Lewin
Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy
Starring: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy

Tagline: The festival hit of the year!
Overview: Though a childhood bout with polio left him dependent on an iron lung, Mark O'Brien maintains a career as a journalist and poet. A writing assignment dealing with sex and the disabled piques Mark's curiosity, and he decides to investigate the possibility of experiencing sex himself. When his overtures toward a caregiver scare her away, he books an appointment with sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene to lose his virginity.

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Directed by: Ben Lewin
Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy
Starring: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: warmstrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
lightstrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: sexuality
identity
faith
love
healing
Places: big city
home
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: true story
Content intensity: Gore none
Language strong
Violence none
Sex strong

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	0
Humour	6
Realism	8
Romance	6
Tension	3
Darkness	3
Complexity	5
Emotional weight	7

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