94% The Sessions

All Critics (101) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (95) | Rotten (6)

This is a crowd-pleaser of the finest sort.

Using only his tilted head, his eyes, nose, and mouth and that quizzical voice, Hawkes brings O'Brien to life.

It's funny and well-meaning, with great performances, but the story plays out more like an Afterschool Special with full-frontal nudity.

Most often with The Sessions the blunt comedy outweighs the drift toward sanctimony.

It sends viewers out of the theater with a heightened sense of the physical and a real feeling for all the things that sex means in human life.

The achievement of this simply told, exceptionally fine film is the clarity with which it portrays the drama of a good soul in an inert body.

The Sessions is a truly inspirational work, grounded by a powerful, thought-provoking performance that lingers long after one has left the auditorium. It is one of the more memorable, if imperfect, achievements of 2012.

It's really a three-character comedy/drama, with the best elements of both genres.

"The Sessions" shapes its themes in an appealing way and keeps the script lively and engaging and funny.

This isn't the first film to explore the subject of the sexuality of the disabled. But it is, thanks to sensitive direction from Ben Lewin and empathetic performances that never condescend, among the best.

A remarkable story of bravery and compassion

With its assertive hero and inclusive humor, "The Sessions" is an inspirational drama you can feel good about in the morning.

Gets it right, in the essence of its true story as well as the social discomforts surrounding disability and sane discussion of sexuality.

It's a fine film and Hawkes gives one of the year's best performances.

Unexpectedly blunt and warmly sympathetic, displaying a refreshing commitment to the tense nuances of a carnal odyssey before its eventual slide into overcooked dramatics.

A sharply written, skillfully executed adult crowd-pleaser [that]avoids mawkishness and actually manages to inspire and amuse.

"The Sessions" introduces us to some harsh truths we may not want to consider, but the outcome is one we cannot fail to understand.

"The Sessions" is a film that reminds us of the fragility of life, and how human beings are capable of a deep emotional bond when it is least expected.

... a story of triumph over disability that takes the form of an uplifting sex comedy rather than a depressing saga of a dying man.

That exceedingly rare combination of sexy, clever and sweet, a winning tale of one charming disabled man's quest to get some stank on his hangdown.

The film greatly benefits from Hawkes' tremendous performance. (Full Content Review for Parents also available)

For the entire endeavor to emotionally register, you must buy into the romance that purportedly blossoms between Hawkes and Hunt. I didn't, not for a second.

Hawkes' work here is that good that it carries one away on a wave of emotion that dismisses critical thought. The film around him could have been better but you're unlikely to realize that while you're watching it.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_sessions/

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