Oscar Outlook 2012: The Sessions

Polish Writer/Director Ben Lewin worked as a lawyer in Australia during his youth.  His breakout feature is based on the life of Berkley-based poet and journalist Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes) who spent the greater part of his life in an iron lung and experienced a sexual reawakening in his 30's.  Helen Hunt plays The Sessions (formerly The Surrogate and Six Sessions), a woman he hires to help him realize his life-long dream of experiencing sexual intimacy and learning to live within his body.

[Pictures via EW, IndieWire & Access Atlanta]

Producers: Doug Blake, Judi Levine, Stephen Nemeth.  Film Editor Lisa Bromwell has an extensive background in television.  Australian Cinematographer Geoffrey Simpson worked on last year's Sleeping Beauty.  Production Designer John Mott worked on Atlas Shrugged: Part I and the TV show Jericho.  Set Decorator: Sofia Jimenez.  Costume Designer Justine Seymour.  Composer Marco Beltrami (nominated for The Hurt Locker and 3:10 to Yuma).

Fox Searchlight acquired the film during Sundance for $6M, but no release date has been set yet.

Aggregate of Reviews
THR: Under the right marketing campaign, this could be the feel-good hit of the year.  MVP's: Hawkes, Hunt.

The Guardian: Much more sophisticated than it looks on paper.  MVP's: Hawkes.

Hollywood.com: Inspirational and realistic.  MVP's: Best Picture, Hawkes, Hunt.

IndieWire: Impressed with the leads, but found the story too saccharine.  Could be a tough sell, especially with abundant nudity.  MVP's: Hawkes, Hunt.

Christian Cinema: Spoke highly of Hawkes, but was restrained in its true feelings to the film.  MVP: Hawkes.

Collider: Inspirational story that is only sometimes inspirational: MVP's: Hawkes, Hunt.

CinemaBlend: Unconventional film about the handicapped.  MVP's: Hawkes, Hunt.

FilmSchoolRejects: Honest and humorous; only one to mention Hunt's distracting accent.  MVP: Hawkes.

Flixist: Charming, and not maudlin at all.  MVP's: Hawkes.

Doddle: Outstanding.  MVP's: Director, Screenplay, Hawkes, Hunt.

HitFix: Loved it.  MVP's: Hawkes, Hunt, Bloodgood.

GeekTyrant: Liked it.  MVP's: Hawkes, Macy.

poll by twiigs.com

Also on the Radar:

Anna Karenina     Argo     Beasts of the Southern Wild     The Bourne Legacy     The Dark Knight Rises     Dark Shadows     Django Unchained     Gangster Squad     Great Expectations     The Great Gatsby     The Hobbit     Hope Springs     The Hunger Games     Hyde Park on the Hudson     Lawless     Lincoln     Lola Versus     Lovelace     Low Life     Magic Mike     The Master     Les Misérables     Life of Pi     Moonrise Kingdom     People Like Us     Prometheus     To Rome with Love     Ruby Sparks     Savages     Seeking a Friend for the End of the World     The Silver Linings Playbook     Smashed     The Surrogate     Trouble with the Curve     Won't Back Down 


The Avengers     The Amazing Spider-Man     Men in Black III

On a related, or not entirely unrelated note, I was approached by talented artist Peter Kim who composed this graphic celebrating the life and accomplishments of Stephen Hawking, a man with big dreams who reached beyond his physical limitations:

Created by: OnlinePhD.org

And, because he's an inspiration in more ways than one, in keeping with the theme of this blog:

I could take a page out of this pimp's book.  Seriously.

[Picture vis Dlisted]