Thursday, February 13, 2025

Movie Review: ‘A Real Pain’ Is an Impressive Balancing Act


Director: Jesse Eisenberg
Writer: Jesse Eisenberg
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe

Synopsis: Mismatched cousins reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.


Movies do the impossible. In what world could you tell a story about relatives taking a tour of Poland, prominently featuring a trip to a concentration camp, and call it a heartwarming comedy. Life Is Beautiful notwithstanding, regardless of quality, we don’t see a lot of laugh out loud movies about one of the darkest periods in world history. But if you can manage to balance sadness, family drama, heartwarming connection, and a little guided history, it is possible. And this is exactly what A Real Pain both tries and manages to accomplish, all inside of a brisk 90 minutes.

A Real Pain' Review: Mourning as an Act of Survival - The New York Times

We follow estranged cousins, David (Jesse Eisenberg; who also wrote and directed) and Benji Kaplan (Kieran Culkin), who have reunited to honor their recently passed grandmother by going on a tour of her home country. The cousins, despite spending a great deal of time together at different points in their lives, could not be more different. Benji is captivating, charming, and emotionally explosive and combative. David, who is a family man, is anxious, concerned about how he is seen, and even a little bit jealous of his cousin. This interplay makes for a fascinating character study of family, humor, and loss.

Eisenberg, especially as a screenwriter, shines here. A Real Pain is impressively balanced as it changes tone, style, and necessary reveals effortlessly. The only minor issue is how enamored the script is with Benji. It is understandable, as most of the film is from the point of view of David, who is both angry at and in awe of Benji. However, it moves a little too quickly in terms of others’ reactions to the continued trials and tribulations of the Kaplan boys. As David and Benji connect with a tour group of people connected to Jewish faith  and history (a Rwandan convert, a divorcee, a happily married couple) in a myriad of ways, they are all just a tad bit too easily forgiving. It is almost as if they have the exact same opinion of Benji that David has, and this does not track with these characters and their journeys.

However, both Culkin and Eisenberg are perfectly comfortable in these roles, though some of that can be attributed to each actor’s personality being an exact fit for this particular style. Culkin undoubtedly has the showier role. He is funnier, more engaging, and infinitely more charming. Eisenberg’s performance is much more internal and when he does get chances to shine, they are, if anything, even more affecting than Culkin. There is a particular scene that occurs when the members of the tour group are sharing a meal, the crowning emotional moment of the film, and Benji is not featured. Eisenberg makes the incredibly smart decision to keep the camera trained on his own face as he details both his and Benji’s past. Eisenberg’s humor, pain, confusion, and yes, anger all come through in a contained monologue that is one of the best of this year that cinema has to offer.

A Real Pain” Fails to Stay in Its Discomfort Zone | The New Yorker

The true test of A Real Pain, which it passes with flying colors, is the trip to the concentration camp. If you are a practiced filmgoer, it feels impossible to do anything new as it has been done dozens of times before. The choice of not doing anything new, to walk through the camp in silence, save for a few emotional reactions and minor details from their tour guide, James (Will Sharpe) shows an awareness and empathy that many filmmakers lack. This continues after they return to the hotel and the film lets us sit with the exhaustion inherent in an experience like this one.

A Real Pain explores an incredible amount of facets of the human experience and somehow avoids having a specific message or a lesson. Not every relationship has closure. Sometimes, we go through emotion together imperfectly and don’t end up crying through a cathartic moment at the end. Maybe it is enough to simply be there. Maybe it is enough to witness people’s pain. Our pain can be historically extreme or maddeningly simple. It is still ours. It is still real. 

Grade: A-

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