I would also like to give, before I post this review, a preview of what December will (hopefully) look like on my end. I haven't spoken to Riley about any joint-reviews or reviews on his end in a while, but I'm seeing him tonight, so that should change. But right now I'm going to discuss my personal plans for December on this blog. As I've mentioned a few times, I want to start doing monthly reader request reviews. My friend Stew asked me to review The Cabin in the Woods and that was going to be my plan for November, but I got so caught up with seeing all of the new movies coming out (as well as work, and other silly things like that), that I never got around to it. Considering December will bring This Is 40, Les Miserables, Django Unchained, and of course The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, as well as some other much-anticipated films (I really want to see The Silver Linings Playbook), I highly doubt I'll have time to do said RRR (reader request review). Even if I don't review those four films, I also want to do a joint Best Films of 2012/Favorite Films of 2012 list before the month ends. Add that in with shooting a short film mid-December (so excited!), December is pretty much packed for me. So that's why the RRR hasn't happened yet, and probably won't until January. But hey, new year new segment, right? Anyway, it looks like December is going to hold a lot of reviews, lists, and other posts for this blog. I hope you're as excited for it as I am!
Thanks for reading all of that. If you're still up for it, here's my review of The Sessions.
--
The Meh-ssions
viewed and reviewed by Adam Stutsman
When I first saw the trailer for The Sessions, I was certainly intrigued; a true story about a man
with polio who wants to lose his virginity, so he asks his Catholic priest
(played by William H. Macy, no less) for permission to use a sex surrogate
certainly caught my eye. I expected a heartwarming tale beneath a veil of racy
sex jokes, with occasional moments of heaviness and depth that were quickly
redeemed with a lighthearted crack of a joke. I expected award-winning
performances from the whole cast, and an overall sense of satisfaction when the
credits rolled. I expected a story that transcended a simple “I want to lose my
virginity because that’s what makes a man a man” message. I expected these
things, because that’s what the general response has been and what the trailer
led me to believe.
I am sorry to say, my expectations were not met in the
least.
The Sessions is a
story about a man with polio who wants to lose his virginity. He writes poetry.
He is Catholic. He doesn’t have much luck with the ladies, because…well…he has
polio and can’t be outside of his iron lung for more than a few hours, and
requires a lot of very intense care. I would like to say there were deeper
things to draw from these traits, but I cannot. This film pretty much takes
place entirely on the surface, which isn’t completely a bad thing unless it’s
in talks for Oscar nominations, which it is. Before I go into more detail, I
will say this: this film does not deserve a single Oscar.
Okay, now that you think I hate this movie, let me review it
and show you that I do not hate this movie.
The protagonist Mark O’Brien, our polio-plagued poet, is played
beautifully by John Hawkes (seriously, if anyone should be in Oscar talks, it’s
him…but still, no). The sex surrogate he hires is played by Helen Hunt, who
looks far too good naked for any 49 year-old and should never attempt a Boston
accent again, and Mark O’Brien’s priest is played by William H. Macy, as I
mentioned before. The three of them do a terrific job in their rolls, yet they
didn’t blow me away (except for some of Hawkes’ more vulnerable moments). Even
in the juicy “sessions” where Cheryl (Hunt) is teaching Mark how to be aware of
his body, and eventually how to have sex, there is a strange disconnected
feeling in the tone. Moments that should be deeply intimate and revealing to
the audience about these characters are far too shallow for their attempts.
When we are finally given a taste of some real depth, our toes touch the bottom
of the pool.
As for the rest of the usual “review” topics...the directing,
editing, etc. were all good enough, but again, nothing astonishing or
resonating. Heck, the best writing in the film was O’Brien’s actual poems (a
nice touch) and the occasional one-liner.
But I can’t get over one massive flaw: there was no purpose
to Mark losing his virginity besides he wanted to and “that’s what makes a real
man.” Apparently the filmmakers found no need to add a layer of depth or
meaning to a devout Catholic losing his virginity outside of marriage. I mean,
I’m not Catholic, but I do know that believers don’t exactly look lightly upon
sex outside of marriage. So to have a strict Catholic decide he wants to lose
his virginity because he doesn’t think he’ll ever get married, and then to play
it off as nonchalant until moments when the story calls for the Catholic Guilt
Complex, is simply poor storytelling. Quite frankly, that downright bad
moviemaking flaw is what ruined what could have otherwise been a nice little
true-story film. Despite it’s subject matter, it wasn’t particularly raunchy, but
in the end I kind of wish it were.
If you do decide to see The
Sessions, I hope you enjoy it, but don’t feel the need to see it in order
to join in with the Oscar talks this year, unless you want to have proper
ammunition to argue why it doesn’t deserve more than a rental on a rainy day.
No comments:
Post a Comment