Couples Therapy - Part 1

The movie begins with a shot of Tony and Emma (played by Kevin Bishop and Rosamund Pike) knocking at the luxurious wooden door of the apartment. A few moments later, the door opens and we see Doctor Casali (played by Giada Colagrande).

TONY: -Good afternoon, Doctor.

CASALI: -Hi Tony! Hi Emma! Glad to finally meet you in person. Come in. The other three couples are already here.

EMMA: -Oh, no… We were the last ones? So much for British punctuality…

CASALI: -Hahaha… Don’t worry, the others just arrived.

The doctor leads the couple to a big room with two long sofas, positioned forming an open V, and an armchair in front of them. Sitting on the couches we see six people, three men and three women. Casali instructs Tony and Emma to take a seat with the others, and sits on the armchair facing the four couples.

CASALI: -Now that we are all here, we can begin. As you know, I have done some telematic sessions with each of you individually during the last month. You have all completed the same tests and have had confidential conversations with me, in which you have opened to me regarding your sexual experiences, desires and insecurities. Today we are here to share and compare said experiences, desires and insecurities.

<<First of all, I want you to know that I perfectly understand that sexuality is often a taboo subject, and that it will be difficult for you to open up in front of your partners and the other couples like you did with me in the private interviews that we had via webcam. But it is very important that you leave your inhibitions behind. You are four couples experiencing different but comparable issues in your sex life, and my job is to help people like you save their relationships.

<<Please, keep in mind that sex is one of the most important pillars of romantic love. It is the main difference between that kind of love and the one you have with your relatives or friends. It is a big mistake to try to ignore this reality with white lies like “Our love is too big to depend on something like sex”. Being sexually attracted to your partner and enjoying your sex life with him or her is not a frivolous thing: it is the base of a healthy relationship.

<<Let’s begin by introducing ourselves. You all know me. I’m Doctor Giulia Casali, sexologist and couples’ therapist. I am from Italy, came here to study my PhD and decided to stay forever. Since we want to establish a climate of confidence where we all open our hearts, I will start by telling you a few things that you don’t know about my personal life: I am single and bisexual, and I have a fetishist attraction to spankings. When I engage in sexual intercourse with men, I like them to spank me, but when I have sex with women, I prefer spanking them; I am what we call “a switch”. The first time I ever masturbated was after watching a film where a girl got spanked by her dad. I suddenly noticed that I was all wet, went to my bedroom and touched myself for the first time. That day I discovered that I liked girls as well as boys, that I liked seeing other people get spanked, and that my clitoris was there for more than decorative purposes -she takes a short break. We see the astonished faces of the eight patients, who look both fascinated and a bit uncomfortable-. Now I’d like each of you to introduce yourselves to the others, please.