Written & Directed by Jesse Eisenberg
From writer/director Jesse Eisenberg comes the story of two cousins, David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin). Their grandmother, a Jewish survivor of WWII concentration camps in Poland, passes away, leaving money in her will for her grandkids to take a trip to her childhood hometown. They use the funds on a week-long tour of Poland led by James (Will Sharpe) and joined by a ragtag group of fellow travelers.
During the tour, they visit landmarks, see a preserved concentration camp, get to know the rest of the group, and ultimately bond together after a period of emotional separation. We see Benji struggle to accept the realities of the past, we watch Dave reshape his perceptions of pain and sorrow and life.
A Real Pain isn’t much more complicated than that. It’s a beautifully shot, well told story of reconnection between cousins as they learn together about their haunting family history. The New York Times called it a portrayal of “mourning as an act of survival.”
Culkin gives an amazing performance, for which he ultimately won “Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture” at the 82nd Golden Globes, “Best Supporting Actor” at the 30th Critics’ Choice Awards, and an Oscar for “Actor in a Supporting Role” at the 97th Academy Awards. His speeches across the awards season were phenomenal. Here’s a sample.
This was clearly a passion project for Eisenberg, who was raised secularly Jewish in New York and has ancestral roots in Poland, but the movie never gets too self-important or referential. It holds onto a sense of universality and feels emotionally rich no matter the viewer.
We’re especially brought in by the supporting cast. We never get a complete sense of them as full, rounded characters, but we don’t need to. They’re there to provide exposition (like when Dave shares Benji’s history with depression during a group dinner), showcase gaps between the cousins (like when Benji chooses to walk with Marcia instead of Dave during a tour), or provide comedic relief (like nearly every line from Mark). At the end of the day, the story is about Dave and Benji, everyone else is just there to support their journey.
Final thoughts
A Real Pain moves much more slowly than many American films today — the plot could even be perceived as thin — and the ending doesn’t tie it all up with a bow. But careful viewers will be absorbed by the delicate storytelling Eisenberg presents; following David’s subtle transformation throughout, feeling Benji’s “real pain” in the darkest moments, and finally accepting that we need to let him sit with it a bit longer when the film ends, because he isn’t ready to reimmerse.
Note: Watchers must be fans of the Kieran Culkin brand to appreciate this one — but, come on… who isn’t?
This movie is good.
My rating: 4/5
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