The Sessions

The Sessions

The festival hit of the year!

R 2012 · 95 min · ★ 6.9 · Drama, Romance, Comedy

Though a childhood bout with polio left him dependent on an iron lung, Mark O'Brien maintains a career as a journalist and poet. A writing assignment dealing with sex and the disabled piques Mark's curiosity, and he decides to investigate the possibility of experiencing sex himself. When his overtures toward a caregiver scare her away, he books an appointment with sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene to lose his virginity.

Directed by Ben Lewin · Written by Ben Lewin

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Rent or Buy

Apple TV Store

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 8m together

The Sessions

Please Stand By

Both from Ben Lewin.

More from Ben LewinSee all →

Welcome to BritainWelcome to Britain · 1976
Welcome to Britain
9.01976
MovieDocumentary
Captures a moment in 1970s Britain's immigration debate, focusing on new arrivals at Heathrow as they wrestle with immigration law.
Rafferty's RulesRafferty's Rules · 1987
Rafferty's Rules
8.01987
SeriesDramaCrime
Rafferty's Rules was an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1990 on the Seven Network. Rafferty's Rules was one of the first programs undertaken by the Seven Network's then new in-house drama unit, going into production in May 1985 as "a 15-part courtroom drama". The program had started out as a pilot episode, recorded in early 1984 with the actor Chris Haywood in the lead role. When the pilot episode was remounted later in 1984, Chris Haywood wasn't available and the lead role was re-cast to John Wood. This second recording was eventually broadcast as the program's first episode.
The Dunera BoysThe Dunera Boys · 1985
The Dunera Boys
7.31985
MovieDramaWar
At the start of WWII the British Government decided to arrest all Germans in the UK no matter how long they had been there. Among those arrested were many Jewish refugees and many who were fully assimilated. This film records the story of a group who were sent to a POW camp in Australia aboard the Dunera.
ITV PlayhouseITV Playhouse · 1967
ITV Playhouse
7.01967
SeriesDrama
ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.
SpeechlessSpeechless · 2016
Speechless
6.92016
SeriesComedy
Maya DiMeo is a mom on a mission who will do anything for her husband, Jimmy, and kids Ray, Dylan, and JJ, her eldest son with special needs. As Maya fights injustices both real and imagined, the family works to make a new home for themselves and searches for just the right person to give JJ his “voice.”
Please Stand ByPlease Stand By · 2018
Please Stand By
6.82018
MovieComedyDrama
A young autistic woman runs away from her caregiver in order to boldly go and deliver her 500-page Star Trek script to a writing competition in Hollywood. On an adventure full of laughter and tears, Wendy follows the guiding spirit of Mr. Spock on her journey into the unknown.
Ally McBealAlly McBeal · 1997
Ally McBeal
6.51997
SeriesDramaComedy
Ally McBeal is a young lawyer working at the Boston law firm Cage and Fish. Ally's lives and loves are eccentric, humorous, dramatic with an incredibly overactive imagination that's working overtime!
Falling for FigaroFalling for Figaro · 2021
Falling for Figaro
6.52021
MovieRomanceComedy
A brilliant young fund manager leaves her unfulfilling job and long-term boyfriend to chase her lifelong dream of becoming an opera singer in the Scottish Highlands.
Prüdes Hollywood - Laster, Lust und Leidenschaft im FilmPrüdes Hollywood - Laster, Lust und Leidenschaft im Film · 2025
Prüdes Hollywood - Laster, Lust und Leidenschaft im Film
6.52025
MovieDocumentary
In recent years, Hollywood productions have turned away from sensuality. Is the sex scene on the verge of extinction or reinvention? Alongside film professionals and researchers, this documentary deciphers a trend that speaks volumes about the evolution of the industry and our societies.
The Catcher Was a SpyThe Catcher Was a Spy · 2018
The Catcher Was a Spy
6.22018
MovieDramaWar
Former major league baseball player Moe Berg lives a double life working for the Office of Strategic Services in World War II Europe.
The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big FishThe Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish · 1991
The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish
5.91991
MovieComedyRomance
A farce, Hoskins plays a photographer who specializes in religious pictures who searches for a model for Jesus. He does a favor for a friend and finds himself doing a voice track for a porno movie with Natasha Richardson. Hoskins finds his model for Jesus in Jeff Goldblum and a romantic triangle begins in which Goldblum finds adoring crowds believing him to be Jesus and then begins to believe it himself.
Lucky BreakLucky Break · 1994
Lucky Break
4.71994
MovieComedyRomance
Sophie, a writer of racy romance novels, is working on one of her stories in the library, when Eddie overhears her. Sophie, embarrassed by her paralyzed leg from childhood polio, spurns his advances, but when Sophie breaks her leg, she has the perfect way of hiding her disability from Eddie. As Sophie struggles to win over Eddie and hide her disability, Eddie's jealous fiance and a police officer investigating a jewel heist threaten their relationship.
GeorgiaGeorgia · 1989
Georgia
3.31989
MovieThrillerMystery
A young woman investigates the death of her mother, who drowned when her daughter was still a baby. The question is: was it murder, suicide or merely an accident?
MascotlandMascotland
Mascotland
MovieComedyThriller
A desert-set 1990s period piece about two brothers who, with the help of some costumes, escape a lifetime of captivity.

More Like This

Quiz ShowQuiz Show · 1994
Quiz Show
7.21994
MovieHistoryDrama
Herbert Stempel's transformation into an unexpected television personality unfolds as he secures victory on the cherished American game show, 'Twenty-One.' However, when the show introduces the highly skilled contestant Charles Van Doren to replace Stempel, it compels Stempel to let out his frustrations and call out the show as rigged. Lawyer Richard Goodwin steps in and attempts to uncover the orchestrated deception behind the scenes.
Battle of BritainBattle of Britain · 1969
Battle of Britain
6.81969
MovieWarHistory
In 1940, the Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle against the might of the Luftwaffe for control of the skies over Britain, thus preventing an attempted Nazi invasion.
Great Balls of Fire!Great Balls of Fire! · 1989
Great Balls of Fire!
6.31989
MovieDramaHistory
The story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him into conflict with others in the industry, and even earned him the scorn and condemnation of the public.
Human TrafficHuman Traffic · 1999
Human Traffic
6.81999
MovieComedyDrama
For Jip, Lulu, Koop, Nina, and Moff, the dead-end jobs they endure during the week just kill the time until Friday night. That's when they cut very loose and get on the rollercoaster ride that takes them right through to Monday morning.
We Are MarshallWe Are Marshall · 2006
We Are Marshall
6.92006
MovieDramaHistory
When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.
Touching the VoidTouching the Void · 2003
Touching the Void
7.62003
MovieDocumentaryAction
The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Rear WindowRear Window · 1998
Rear Window
5.41998
MovieDramaThriller
Jason Kemp, a recently paralyzed architect, lives in a high-tech apartment filled with assistive technology. As a quadriplegic confined to his home, he passes the long hours by spying on his neighbors from his apartment window. His innocent pastime takes a deadly turn when he believes he witnesses a murder. Determined to uncover the truth, Jason continues to dig deeper - eventually finding himself locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Blast from the PastBlast from the Past · 1999
Blast from the Past
6.81999
MovieDramaRomance
Following a bomb scare in the 1960s that locked the Webbers into their bomb shelter for 35 years, Adam now ventures forth into Los Angeles to obtain food and supplies for his family, and a non-mutant wife for himself.
The SilenceThe Silence · 1963
The Silence
7.51963
MovieDramaRomance
Traveling through an unnamed European country on the brink of war, sickly, intellectual Ester, her sister Anna and Anna's young son, Johan, check into a near-empty hotel. A basic inability to communicate among the three seems only to worsen during their stay. Anna provokes her sister by enjoying a dalliance with a local man, while the boy, left to himself, has a series of enigmatic encounters that heighten the growing air of isolation.
The Emerald ForestThe Emerald Forest · 1985
The Emerald Forest
6.61985
MovieActionAdventure
For ten years, engineer Bill Markham has searched tirelessly for his son Tommy who disappeared from the edge of the Brazilian rainforest. Miraculously, he finds the boy living among the reclusive Amazon tribe who adopted him. And that's when Bill's adventure truly begins. For his son is now a grown tribesman who moves skillfully through this beautiful-but-dangerous terrain, fearful only of those who would exploit it. And as Bill attempts to "rescue" him from the savagery of the untamed jungle, Tommy challenges Bill's idea of true civilization and his notions about who needs rescuing.
Lilo & StitchLilo & Stitch · 2002
Lilo & Stitch
7.62002
MovieAnimationFamily
As Stitch, a runaway genetic experiment from a faraway planet, wreaks havoc on the Hawaiian Islands, he becomes the mischievous adopted alien "puppy" of an independent little girl named Lilo and learns about loyalty, friendship, and ʻohana, the Hawaiian tradition of family.
ElioElio · 2025
Elio
6.92025
MovieAnimationAdventure
Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination, finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.
Sonic the HedgehogSonic the Hedgehog · 2020
Sonic the Hedgehog
7.32020
MovieActionScience Fiction
Powered with incredible speed, Sonic The Hedgehog embraces his new home on Earth. That is, until Sonic sparks the attention of super-uncool evil genius Dr. Robotnik. Now it’s super-villain vs. super-sonic in an all-out race across the globe to stop Robotnik from using Sonic’s unique power for world domination.
UglyDollsUglyDolls · 2019
UglyDolls
6.62019
MovieAnimationMusic
In the adorably different town of Uglyville, weirdness is celebrated, strangeness is special and beauty is embraced as more than meets the eye. After traveling to the other side of a mountain, Moxy and her UglyDoll friends discover Perfection -- a town where more conventional dolls receive training before entering the real world to find the love of a child.
RanRan · 1985
Ran
8.01985
MovieActionDrama
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter