Lasciati andare (2017)

Elia Venezia is a gruff Jewish psychoanalyst who keeps everyone at a distance, including his ex-wife Giovanna, who lives on the same landing in a building opposite the Great Synagogue, in Rome’s Jewish Ghetto. Jewishness provides the backdrop rather than playing a major role, marking an evolution from the usual stereotyped plots. Due to health problems, Elia is forced to go on a diet and take up exercise. That is how he meets Claudia, a young, funny, eccentric personal trainer. Claudia gets Elia back in shape, and he also regains his professional edge, but he suffers when he sees his ex-wife with another man. If only to make her jealous, he flaunts his association with Claudia, who has a little girl and is always involved with troubled men. The current one is Ettore, a petty thief in prison who cannot remember exactly where he hid his latest loot. Ettore goes to Elia’s home to be hypnotized and discover the hiding place, but Claudia, having listened in on the session, tries to use what she heard to her own advantage. Furious, Ettore takes Elia hostage and sets off in pursuit of the woman. In the end, Claudia gets away with it, and Elia, once again a brilliant analyst, persuades a dazed Ettore to return to prison. Claudia now has the money to go to her daughter’s biological father, with whom she can try to build a real family, but before leaving she clears the air with Elia. He has overcome the apathy that had been weighing on him and gives up his futile jealousy, rediscovering his dormant passion for his ex-wife, who, pleasantly surprised, reciprocates.