Based on the essay, "On Seeing a Sex Surrogate", written by poet and journalist, Mark O'Brien, The Sessions is one of the best movies about disability that I have seen. Mark O'Brien (played by John Hawkes) contracted polio when he was young, and effectively lived in an iron lung for the rest of his life.
Initially the story focuses on his own helplessness - first his dependency on his caregivers; to his relative exclusion from society and societal norms - which sets the movie up wonderfully in terms of the challenges of the disabled. The movie however is principally about the sessions with his sex surrogate - and the performances by both Helen Hunt (as the surrogate) and John Hawkes is magical. It conveys the awkwardness, the hope and the joy brilliantly, and conveys the humanity that Mark O'Brien clearly wanted to acknowledged. It is a touching story, with amazing performances.
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