The latest Academy award nominated movies are starting to come out here; so over the next month or so I will be frequenting the cinema as I did this week seeing Companion and today’s featured movie – A Real Pain. Next week, I have The Brutalist and I’m Still Here lined up. Thereafter Conclave and A Complete Unknown. They will also be relaunching Se7en which I am looking forward to seeing with my son since he hasn’t seen it.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Jesse Eisenberg’s directorial debut, A Real Pain, but the premise intrigued me. It also felt like a refreshing change of pace – a grounded, nuanced drama – after the explosive sci-fi spectacle of Companion, which I had just seen. A Real Pain turned out to be a smart, funny, and deeply emotional film that resonated with me on every cinematic level. As the credits rolled, I felt as though my companion and I had embarked on our own journey through Poland, honoring the Jewish experience during World War II. I had never seen a film that so vividly transported me to a place, making me feel as if I had been exploring the sights and absorbing the history alongside the protagonists – all for the price of a movie ticket.
IMDB Storyline:
“A Real Pain” follows mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother, but their adventure takes a dark turn when the odd couple’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
The movie demonstrates Eisenberg as a thoughtful filmmaker, devoted to showing his characters as multi-dimensional, flawed human beings. Benji and David feel like real people, not cardboard cut-outs with one aspect to their personalities. The film is taut with unhappiness but allows itself to be funny. Each conversation in A Real Pain feels organic, almost improvised, yet carries an unusual, sometimes absurd, but never dull rhythm. There’s a darkly comic undercurrent to the dialogue that had me laughing out loud – even when the rest of the audience remained silent. But I didn’t mind; few films make me feel so present, so willing to let the seemingly trivial expressions, awkward pauses, and offbeat detours take me wherever they lead.
From one scene to the next, there’s no predicting how the protagonists will react or what unexpected remark will surface, yet every interaction crackles with authenticity. The film thrives on this unpredictability, toeing the line between discomfort and engagement, making even the most mundane moments feel oddly profound. Eisenberg masterfully captures the raw, messy nature of family connection, proving that sometimes, the most meaningful conversations are the ones that meander without a clear destination.
Beyond Jesse Eisenberg’s direction, the real revelation in A Real Pain is Kieran Culkin’s remarkable performance. It’s easy to see why he’s been nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the upcoming Academy Awards – his portrayal is nothing short of mesmerizing. The film’s title is no exaggeration, and Culkin carries that emotional weight masterfully, though it’s often masked by a facade of humor, impulsivity, and manic outbursts that can shift the mood of a scene in an instant.
What makes his performance so compelling is the delicate balance he strikes between deep, lingering pain and an almost frenetic charm. His interactions with the tour group oscillate between hilarity and heartbreak, leaving the audience in a constant state of intrigue. At times, he’s disarmingly tender; at others, he’s an unpredictable force of nature. This emotional duality is one of the most fascinating elements, inviting viewers to peel back the layers of his character long after the credits roll.
There is a lot more I admired about this movie, including the beautiful cinematography by Director of photography Michal Dymek captures some haunting imagery, from Poland’s cobble-stone streets and grim, post-Soviet architecture to the cold cruelty of a concentration camp. In addition, the music of Frédéric Chopin (who is Polish of course) is interwoven cleverly into the film, becoming a character in itself, his melancholy melodies seeming to heighten the drama and power of proceedings. Further, Robert Nassau’s editing ensures the film has a good pace, never wanting for momentum.
I highly recommend A Real Pain to the conscientious cinema goer. I hope it hits all your right buttons as it did for me. If you have already seen it I would love to know what you thought. Thank you for reading.
References:
1. A Real Pain (2024) – IMDB
2. A Real Pain – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
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