Honestly, if you look back at the cinematic landscape of 2012, one performance stands out not just for its bravery, but for its complete lack of ego. When Helen Hunt signed on to play Cheryl Cohen-Greene in The Sessions, she wasn’t just taking a "comeback" role. She was walking into a project that most Hollywood A-listers would have sprinted away from.
Why? Because the role required her to be naked. A lot.
But here is the thing: the nudity in Helen Hunt The Sessions wasn't there to sell tickets or be provocative in that slick, Hollywood way. It was clinical. It was tender. It was, in many ways, just part of the job description for her character. Hunt played a professional sex surrogate hired to help Mark O’Brien (played by a phenomenal John Hawkes), a poet paralyzed from the neck down by polio, lose his virginity at the age of 38.
What People Get Wrong About the Nudity
There’s this weird double standard in how we talk about "bravery" in acting. Usually, it means an actor gained fifty pounds or wore a bunch of prosthetic makeup. For Hunt, bravery was just being a 49-year-old woman in front of a camera without the safety net of clothes or lighting tricks.
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She wasn't playing a "vixen." She was playing a "sex-positive" middle-class mom who happened to have an extraordinary job.
Ben Lewin, the director, once described Cheryl as a "soccer mom who has sex with strangers for a living." That paradox is what makes the performance work. You see her at home with her husband and her teenage son, and then you see her in a motel room with Mark, methodically helping him navigate a body he has spent a lifetime feeling alienated from.
The film received some flak because while Hunt is frequently seen full-frontal, John Hawkes is almost always obscured by sheets. People called it sexist. Lewin admitted it was a strategic move to avoid an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, who are notoriously terrified of the male anatomy. But Hunt herself didn't seem to care about the lopsidedness. She famously told reporters that it was "getting too late to not be brave."
The True Story Behind Helen Hunt The Sessions
The movie isn't some screenwriter's fever dream; it’s based on Mark O'Brien's 1990 article, "On Seeing a Sex Surrogate." Mark was a real guy—a brilliant journalist and poet who lived most of his life in an iron lung.
If you haven't seen an iron lung, it’s a massive, yellow metal cylinder that uses air pressure to breathe for the patient. Mark could only be out of it for a few hours at a time. Imagine trying to navigate the vulnerability of a first sexual encounter while your physical survival is literally on a timer.
- The Surrogate: Cheryl Cohen-Greene is a real person too. Hunt actually spent a ton of time with her, even having Cheryl record the entire script so she could nail the accent.
- The Ethics: The film explores the "six-session" rule. Surrogates aren't prostitutes; the goal is to teach the client the skills and confidence to go out and find a real relationship.
- The Religion: One of the most interesting layers is Mark’s relationship with his priest, played by William H. Macy. The movie treats sex and faith as roommates rather than enemies.
Why the Performance Earned an Oscar Nod
Hunt eventually landed an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and she deserved it. There is a scene in a car where her character has a minor emotional breakdown after a session. It’s barely a minute long, but you see the "professional" mask slip.
Playing a surrogate is a tightrope walk. You have to be intimate enough to help the person but detached enough to not fall in love. In Helen Hunt The Sessions, we see that line get blurry. You can feel her heart breaking for Mark, even as she’s trying to maintain the boundaries of their "clinical" relationship.
It's a "thinking actress" role.
A Different Perspective on Disability
Movies usually treat disabled characters in one of two ways: they’re either "inspirational" saints or bitter recluses. The Sessions ignores both of those tropes. Mark is funny, horny, frustrated, and occasionally a bit of a jerk. He’s human.
The movie treats his sexual desire not as a tragedy, but as a basic human right. Hunt’s character doesn't pity him. She treats his body with the same matter-of-fact care a physical therapist would use on a torn ACL, which is exactly why the emotional connection that eventually grows between them feels so earned.
Actionable Insights for Viewers
If you’re coming to this movie for the first time, or revisiting it after years, keep these points in mind to get the most out of the experience:
- Watch the Documentary First: Check out Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien. It won an Oscar in 1997 and gives you the raw, unfiltered reality of the man John Hawkes is portraying.
- Look for the "Sex-Positive" Lens: Notice how the film avoids the "shame" narrative. It treats sex as a tool for healing and self-discovery rather than something "dirty."
- Pay Attention to the Dialogue: Much of the script is pulled directly from Mark’s own writings. His wit is dry, sharp, and totally removes the "pity" factor from the story.
- Observe the Transitions: Notice how Hunt changes her posture and tone when she moves from her "mom" life to her "surrogate" life. It’s a masterclass in subtle character work.
Ultimately, the legacy of Helen Hunt The Sessions isn't about the nudity. It's about the radical idea that every body—no matter how broken or limited—is capable of giving and receiving pleasure. It’s a quiet, small film that tackles a massive, universal topic with a level of grace that’s still pretty rare to see on screen.