The Sessions

- 2012
- US
- 1h 35min
- 15
- Directed by: Ben Lewin
- Written by: Ben Lewin
- Cast: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy
- UK release: 18 January 2013
- Website: www.thesessionsmovie.com
Mark (Hawkes, remarkable) is a writer and polio survivor. Paralysed since childhood, he's a virgin in his late 30s whose main confidant is his Catholic priest (Macy), but then he hires a sexual surrogate (Hunt). Based on a true story, it deftly avoids mawkishness and is pleasingly frank, funny and moving.
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Reviews & features
Profile: Ben Lewin, director of The Sessions

The film is inspired by poet and journalist Mark O'Brien's experiences with a sex surrogate
Born Poland, 1946. Raised in Melbourne, Australia. Background In 1971 Lewin quit his job as a barrister to study filmmaking at the National Film and Television School in England. Lewin’s work to date includes Ally McBeal and the films Georgia and The…
The Sessions


Charming and gently moving story of a polio survivor and a sexual surrogate
The Sessions is the true story of the poet and journalist Mark O’Brien’s experiences with a sexual surrogate. O’Brien was a polio survivor who spent much of his life paralyzed from the neck down, largely confined to an iron lung. As a consequence he…
The Sessions trailer
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