Mark O'Brien and The Sessions

Mark O'Brien

The late US poet and journalist Mark O’Brien wanted one wish granted before his death, and that was to experience sexual intimacy.

The fact that he spent much of his time in an iron lung often presented a barrier, for him and for women who didn’t know how to reciprocate every time he expressed love to them.

O’Brien’s journey is told in the new indie film The Sessions (aka The Surrogate), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. I saw it this weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). I could identify with the reality that it is hard for those of us with disabilities to start a relationship that includes sex.

After a failed attempt at a relationship with one of his attendants, O’Brien, played by non-disabled actor John Hawkes, hires a surrogate partner (Helen Hunt) to help him overcome his fears towards experiencing sexual intercourse, in six, one-time-only sessions. He even receives a blessing from his Catholic priest (William H. Macy) before putting his plan into action.

O’Brien, who acquired polio at age six, decided at 36 to pursue his goal to have sexual intercourse, if only in the Biblical sense. Hawkes brings out the urgency and yearning O’Brien must have gone through while wrestling with his emotions and religious convictions.

A lot of the source material for The Sessions come from an article O’Brien published called, “On Seeing a Sexual Surrogate.” The Sessions contains humour and heart, and the story develops very quickly. It also avoids being judgmental about the journey itself.

Though some of you reading this review may feel squeamish about the story and its subject matter, I encourage you to go in with an open mind and give it a chance. I like this movie, and how it recognizes and celebrates Mark O’Brien as a champion of the independent living movement.

The real O’Brien famously appeared in a short documentary on his life and work called Breathing Lessons (1996), which is available to watch in its entirety at www.snagfilms.com. This film won an Academy Award in 1997.

O’Brien died in 1999, at the age of 49. The Sessions is dedicated to his memory.