A Real Pain
Directed by Jesse Eisenberg
★★★★
Kieran Culkin, Jesse Eisenberg, and Will Sharpe in A REAL PAIN. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures, © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain is a poignant and thoughtful exploration of family, identity, and the weight of inherited trauma. The film follows mismatched cousins David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they embark on a trip to Poland to honor their late grandmother’s memory. Their journey, however, becomes far more than a simple tribute as old tensions resurface, and the haunting legacy of the Holocaust intertwines with their personal struggles.
Eisenberg, known for his keen introspection and subtle storytelling, shines as a triple threat—directing, writing, and starring in the film. The screenplay is one of A Real Pain’s greatest strengths. It navigates delicate themes of cultural identity and generational trauma with a remarkable balance of gravity and levity. The dialogue is sharp and often laced with dry humor, reflecting the cousins’ vastly different personalities while capturing the awkwardness and complexity of their relationship.
David and Benji serve as emotional counterpoints. Eisenberg’s portrayal of David is restrained and stoic, embodying a quiet resilience and discomfort with vulnerability. In contrast, Culkin’s Benji is an emotional whirlwind—abrasive, impulsive, and often inappropriate, but deeply human. Their contrasting energies create a fascinating dynamic that evolves throughout the film, with both characters peeling back layers of their own pain and misunderstandings.
The film excels in its visual and tonal juxtaposition. Poland’s stark, harrowing Holocaust sites—places steeped in unimaginable tragedy—are depicted alongside the sometimes absurd and chaotic antics of a modern road trip. This contrast could have easily felt jarring, but Eisenberg handles it with an assured hand, using the disparity to underscore the incongruity of living with the echoes of past horrors while navigating present-day struggles.
One of the film’s most inspired sequences takes place on a train, where a moment of personal epiphany collides with an argument between the cousins. Eisenberg neither trivializes the gravity of the setting nor forces an overly sentimental resolution. Instead, he allows the scene to breathe, letting the audience sit with its discomfort and humanity. This careful approach exemplifies the film’s ethos—acknowledging pain without succumbing to melodrama or oversimplification.
The film is not without its flaws. Some secondary characters feel underdeveloped, existing more as narrative devices than fully realized individuals. Additionally, the film’s tonal shifts, while mostly well-executed, may feel abrupt to some viewers. However, these minor quibbles do little to detract from the overall impact of the story.
Ultimately, A Real Pain is a testament to Eisenberg’s growth as a filmmaker. It’s a moving exploration of how personal and collective histories shape us and how familial relationships—imperfect as they are—can provide both solace and strife. Anchored by outstanding lead performances and a script that deftly balances humor with heartache, this is a film that lingers long after the credits roll, inviting viewers to reflect on their own connections to the past and the present.
In A Real Pain, Eisenberg crafts a road trip movie that transcends its genre, offering a deeply affecting portrait of the human experience.
