"The Sessions" movie quotes follow along as a paralyzed poet decides to lose his virginity and seeks out a sex surrogate. The independent drama earned praise at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival including receiving the Audience Award and US Dramatic Special Jury Prize.
In "The Sessions," Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes) is a 38-year-old man who was paralyzed and confined to an iron lung after contracting polio as a child. Having never been with a woman, Mark decides that it's time to lose his virginity. With the support of his priest, Father Brendan (William H. Macy), Mark finds a sex surrogate to help him. A sex surrogate is not a prostitute but does provide sexual contact as a technique in order to achieve a therapeutic goal.
Mark begins seeing sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen Greene. At first he's highly nervous but after he gets to know Cheryl a bit more during their sessions he starts to loosen up and come to really adore Cheryl.
"The Sessions" is based on a true story but for something a bit more fictional, check out other great movies such as "Alex Cross," "Smashed," "Sinister," "Seven Psychopaths," "Argo," "Here Comes the Boom," "The Paperboy," "Taken 2," "Frankenweenie," "Butter," "Won't Back Down," and "Looper."
The Sessions Movie Quotes,
Sex Therapist
Clerk: "What kind of therapist is she?"
Vera: "She's a sex therapist. Today they're working on simultaneous orgasm."
Clerk: "What's that?"
While she waits for Mark, Vera strikes up a conversation with a clerk. If he wasn't confused by the idea of a sex therapist, he is highly confused by the idea of the simultaneous orgasm.
Signals From Your Body
Cheryl: "You're going to start to listen to signals from your body. That way you'll be able to have some control."
Cheryl's job as a sex surrogate is not simply to provide a sexual release for her clients but also teach them how to work with and overcome their disabilities in the process.
A Free Pass
Father Brendan: "I understand you'd like me to hear your confession."
Mark: "Yes, I would. It's not exactly a confession. I haven't yet done the deed."
Father Brendan: "I'm here for you, Mark."
Mark: "Is it possible for me to know a woman in the biblical sense?"
Father Brendan: "Are we talking about sexual intercourse?"
Mark: "I think so."
Father Brendan: "Outside marriage?"
Mark: "My penis speaks to me, father. This therapist suggested I could work with a sex surrogate who could be sensitive to my unusual needs."
Father Brendan: "In my heart I feel like he'll give you a free pass on this one. Go for it."
Mark: "Really?"
Before making his decision about whether to use a sex surrogate or not, Mark speaks with Father Brendan about the idea. Though it's sex outside of marriage, something usually frowned upon by the church, Father Brendan thinks that just this once breaking the rules is allowed.
Second Base
Vera: "Think about something else, baseball for example."
Mark: "You mean like I hope I make it to second base?"
Hoping to ease his nerves, Vera urges Mark to think about something other than his awaiting encounter with the sex therapist, something like baseball. That's quite an interesting suggestion however with the whole baseball-sex analogy.
Wrong Way to Start
Cheryl: "So"
Mark: "Your money's on the desk over there."
Cheryl: "Yes it is. Thank you."
Mark: "That was the wrong way to start off."
Cheryl: "That really was. Shall we start again?"
Mark: "Please, you start."
Cheryl: "Although the aim is for us to have sex, I'm not a prostitute. You don't have to pay me up front. I have nothing against prostitutes but there's a difference. We can talk about that later."
Mark: "I'm sorry"
Cheryl: "The other is, there's a limit to the number of sessions we can have. Did Laura mention that when you saw her?"
Mark: "Uh, I'm sorry, I don't remember."
Cheryl: "The limit is six but that gives us plenty of opportunity to explore... So, I understand you're able to have an erection."
Mark: "Yes, but not by choice."
Cheryl: "Do you know how many men there are that would give anything for a natural erection? Is this your place?"
Mark: "No, it's a friend's. The only bedroom furniture I have at my place is an iron lung. I've been wondering maybe about possibly buying a futon, you know, in case the need arose."
Cheryl: "Might be worth thinking about"
Mark: "I've the space I think. It can be expensive though and I... futon, you know how much do you think a good one would cost?"
Cheryl: "Mark, take a deep breath... and let go."
Mark: "Do I seem anxious?"
Cheryl: "You do a little."
When Mark and Cheryl, his sex surrogate, meet for the first time, things are a bit awkward and don't exactly go so well. Cheryl however acts professionally and tries her best to make the very anxious Mark at ease.
Oh God
Mark: "It felt cursed, like the whole enterprise was cursed. It seemed like a totally just punishment. God wasn't actually denying my sexuality, he was just pointing out how useless it was."
Father Brendan: "It's amazing to me how often god is brought into a sex act. I understand even among non-believers the most common expression of sexual ecstasy is 'oh god.'"
While listening to Mark talk about his sexuality, Father Brendan tosses in a fun fact about personal expression during sexual ecstasy, something seen as far funnier to Father Brendan than anyone else.
Pretty Kinky
Father Brendan: "What is she like, Cheryl?"
Mark: "She is the most wonderful person on the planet. She adores me and I can get pretty kinky. Am I sharing too much, father?"
Father Brendan: "Go on."
As Mark explains how much he adores Cheryl, especially when they get kinky in their therapy, he wonders aloud if he's sharing too much. Though they are in a church and strangers are around, Father Brendan urges Mark to continue.
Blame
Cheryl: "Picture yourself as a six-year-old boy. Do you blame him for getting polio?"
To help Mark's mental state along with his physical desires, Cheryl tries to identify the root of his issues, which often is the fact that he contracted polio as a young child.