Rarely do we ever see a film that blends humor and tenderness together without being overly sappy or unfunny and offensive. “The Sessions” brings these two characteristics into a film that finds the right balance and makes for the feel-good movie of the year.

Thanks to Ben Lewin’s beautifully written screenplay, and excellent performances all around, this film brims with sadness, laughs and above all makes you appreciative of life.

“The Sessions” tells the true story of Mark O’Brien (John Hawkes), a poet and journalist who contracted polio at the age of six. His parents were forced to take care of him due to his muscles ceasing to function, and his Catholic upbringing ensured his feeling sorry for contracting polio. The disease confines him to live in an iron lung, where he spends the majority of his day writing, thinking and talking to the portrait of The Virgin Mary hanging on his wall.

He spends the few hours he can outside of his iron lung at his church, where he confides in Father Brendan (William H. Macy) of a sin he is going to commit. Mark wants to be able to know a woman in the biblical sense, but because of his unique situation, he finds it hard to get a woman to willingly have sex with him. He believes a sex surrogate may be the best solution, so he contacts Cheryl Cohen Greene (Helen Hunt), who is willing to help Mark achieve his goal through a series of body awareness sessions. Each session interwoven with Mark telling his experiences to Father Brendan.

Lewin has created a touching film brimming with sentimentality and comedy. This is largely due to the powerhouse performances of Hawkes, Hunt and Macy. Hawkes gives the performance of his career playing a man stricken with polio. Using only his face and voice to act, Hawkes brilliantly takes the audience deep inside the mind of O’Brien, making them feel the stress and emotional turmoil of being a handicapped man. He draws comparisons to Daniel Day Lewis’ Christy Brown, but where Lewis brought sadness and despair to his performance, Hawkes brings hope and triumph to his; Hawkes’ performance is absolutely compelling.

Helen Hunt is equally powerful as O’Brien’s surrogate. Hunt brings compassion to her role, and proves her character to be as emotionally complex as O’Brien’s; he loves her, but she cannot reciprocate due to her marriage. Hunt reveals the emotional toll this takes on her character, as she feels pity and regret towards her polio-stricken client. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful, and both Hawkes and Hunt approach this relationship with grace and fervor.

Macy provides comic relief as the unconventional priest who encourages O’Brien to seek a sex surrogate. He gives a brief, but poignantly hilarious performance.

Lewin’s script and direction are heartfelt and filled with tenderness. He approached a racy subject and made it touching. His depiction of Catholicism flows true, and his depiction of sex is reserved without losing impact. He paints a vivid portrait of a man with an incredible request, and is aided by the beautiful cinematography of Geoffrey Simpson and understated score of Marco Beltrami. “The Sessions” is cinematic gold.