Publisher: Brent Marchant November 16, 2024
Finding ourselves, particularly the process of finding what we’ve lost about ourselves, can be an eye-opening, enlightening but sometimes-painful ordeal, especially if we’re unclear about where to look. For many of us, though, this is a challenge we often attempt to resolve by examining our past, specifically that of our family and its legacy, in hopes that it provides the answers we seek. Such is the quest embarked upon by two once-close cousins, David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin), who journey to Poland on an intimate heritage tour to visit the homestead of their beloved deceased grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who made her way to America after World War II. While David and Benji were at one time as thick as thieves, they’ve drifted apart over time, each becoming significantly different from one another, but they hope to reestablish their longstanding connection through this intensely personal pilgrimage. As their odyssey unfolds, though, they come face to face with the changes that have arisen both in their relationship and in their understandings of themselves, from life goals to their cultural background as the descendants of Polish Jews to how they fundamentally relate to the world. It’s an often-difficult process for these earnest seekers, especially in light of their discovery that, if they truly wish to better understand themselves, they can only go so far in looking outward, instead needing to look inward for guidance and meaningful insight. And its aptly selected title is an ably suitable metaphor on multiple levels, not only in describing Benji’s often-manic, irrational and unpredictable behavior, but also in characterizing the anguish that he and David undergo in making their way through this emotional minefield. This second feature effort from actor-writer-director Eisenberg is indeed an impressive offering, even if its road trip/buddy movie script could use some periodic tweaking in terms of focus and its balance between comedy and drama. More significantly, however, this is a breakout performance for Culkin, who shows just how adept he can be with the right material, an award-worthy portrayal, to be sure. Add to this the film’s gorgeous cinematography of Polish landmarks and the country’s landscapes, as well as its fittingly appropriate Frédéric Chopin soundtrack, and you’ve got a profoundly thoughtful release, one that should give anyone in the cousins’ shoes pause for reflection, something from which we can all benefit from time to time, no matter what we’re ultimately looking for.

Publisher: Chris Sawin November 20, 2024
Written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain sees two cousins reunite after a long period. David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) were raised together and were around each other so much growing up that they were brothers. They meet up in the present day for a Poland Holocaust tour that culminates with them visiting the house that once belonged to their grandmother. David and Benji are at two different stages of life despite being a few months apart. David has a full-time job, a wife, and a kid while Benji is single and doesn’t have a job. While David has fond memories of their grandmother, she was Benji’s favorite person in the world and her death took a huge toll on him that he still hasn’t gotten over. The two estranged cousins are complete opposites of one another. David plays it safe and is typically very quiet while adhering to the rules that are laid out before him. Benji is outspoken, charming, and doesn’t care what people think. People always know how he feels, which isn’t always a good thing since his moods change on a whim. The performances are interesting because Jesse Eisenberg has always had this kind of neurotic demeanor about him as an actor (talks fast with few pauses, is anxious around other people, totally awkward). Leave it to a film that he writes, directs, and stars in for him to play the more grounded of the two main characters. When Benji’s unusual behavior becomes unbearable, David cracks under the pressure of trying to hold it together and be the more level-headed of the two. Eisenberg portrays frustration, anger, sadness, and love in a way that is relatable and believable. Kieran Culkin steals nearly every scene he’s in as Benji. As a character, Benji has a way of being the center of attention without really trying. He speaks his mind and does what he wants. He doesn’t care if he comes as rude or down to earth or like an asshole. He is effortlessly charismatic and funny with a ton of potential to be more than he is. But he’s also broken and the entire tour group can see that. Like Benji wears on David, he can be overbearing at times to the audience but that also makes the character feel that much more genuine. There’s a fine line between paying respect and being blasphemous in A Real Pain. David doesn’t want to be disrespectful in any way while Benji makes his decision based on how he feels. For example, posing dramatically and humorously in front of a monument honoring those who gave their lives during the war could be seen as therapeutic or shameful. Later in the film, the tour group doesn’t see an issue traveling in a first-class train car while Benji is immensely offended since Jews were forced to ride in the very back of the train. The film is written in a way that reveals a bit more behind each cousin as the film progresses. What begins as two cousins traveling to Poland and paying respect to their grandmother evolves into David worrying whether or not Benji can survive on his own while Benji is upset that he doesn’t hear from David much anymore because he’s a family man with a career. They’re two different sides of the same coin: one cousin is taking life too seriously while the other doesn’t take it seriously enough. And as a neutral party watching this all unfold, you can see the benefits and shortcomings of both sides. Being married, having a child, and having a full-time job takes up all your free time. On the other hand, not having a job leaves you with more time to feel like no one has time for you anymore. Both cousins are at an impasse and maybe that’s the takeaway from A Real Pain: to make do and appreciate what you’ve got. And the film ends in a way that doesn’t resolve anything. As adults, we age, get invested in our careers, and drift away from friends and family who were once close because of our commitments as responsible people. A Real Pain touches on that concept. The more we want things to change and the more we want our loved ones to be safe and happy there’s only so much we can do before we go back to our regularly scheduled and separate lives. We just have to hope that that bond and nostalgia that we share is enough until we’re able to meet again. Just because you reach out doesn’t mean things will get better. It lets that loved one know you care and sometimes that’s enough. A Real Pain capitalizes on the ups and downs of traveling with a family member. You love them and have a deep connection with them, but they also annoy you to no end and are reminded why you don’t see them more often. Jesse Eisenberg has made a film that is emotionally powerful and unbelievably relatable while Kieran Culkin delivers an exhaustingly mesmerizing performance loaded with depth and relentless magnetism. The way the film revolves around such flawed individuals makes them feel grounded in reality and A Real Pain feels like bona fide cinema because of it.

Publisher: Chandler Danier January 3, 2025
Good little buddy trip flick. Funny bits. Characters. Stupid tourists making life miserable for locals. Better acting than the mighty Megalopolis. Very clever title.

Publisher: CinemaSerf January 9, 2025
"Grandma Dory" has passed away and left her two grandsons some money so that they can take a trip to Poland and see where she grew up amidst the Nazi invasion and subsequent holocaust. These two are cousins. "David" (Jesse Eisenberg) is a bit of a shy, geeky, type who lives in New York with his wife and child. "Banji" (Kieran Culkin) is quite the opposite. A free spirited, thinking and speaking individual who cares little for what anyone else thinks about him. The pair clearly love each other, but the behaviour of the latter continues to rattle his travelling companion, especially when they meet up with the other members of their touring party in Warsaw. What now ensues is quite a testament to both Eisenberg's vision as a writer/director but also to the inspired casting of Culkin. He is the kind of holiday companion I'd cheerfully have killed with a rusty harpoon. Loud, brash, opinionated and sometimes borderline cruel as he imposes himself on the group swearing as he goes. Gradually, though, we discover that both men have shields up; both are dealing with some fairly deep psychological issues in their own way and even ought these may clash, there is still far more fundamentally connecting them that not. There are ample opportunities to see the sights of Warsaw, and there is an haunting few minutes at the Majdanek camp where shoes, thousands and thousands of shoes, make you shiver. It's potent and it's often funny, darkly so, and in many ways it slots nicely into the recent panoply of dramas about the fascination by younger generations in the horror of war that those who endured actually want to get past and forget. It also shines a light on the whole business of tourism around these monuments, and does make it quite clear that sometimes these trips can become a statistical box-ticking exercise, especially for Americans, who want to say they've "done" that. An architectural monument equivalent of a safari "big five". In the end I found "Benji" to be a vulnerable but fundamentally selfish and unlikeable character - but I bet there are many reading this who profoundly disagree. That's proof that these two did their job well and I'd recommend you go see it in a cinema for a couple of powerful and characterful performances.

Publisher: r96sk January 10, 2025
'A Real Pain' is a real solid watch. It makes up for its no-frills with plenty of heart and a meaningful buddy road trip. It's described as a comedy-drama and it is, though I'd say it's more the latter than the former; albeit with a still sizeable dose of comedy, it is amusing. Kieran Culkin is the reason for the aforementioned, he is the star of this particular show and is funny throughout - though when he has to play more serious, he does to very good effect. Jesse Eisenberg (also dir.) acts alongside, he plays his character really well too. Two strong performers! Will Sharpe and Kurt Egyiawan are good too. I remember seeing part of the trailer and thought it had 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' vibes, I guess there are naturally tiny shades of that but it is very much its own thing. I definitely enjoyed watching it unfold.

Publisher: badelf June 26, 2026
Summary: 7/10: a film with real strengths in performance and tone, undermined somewhat by its inability to fully commit to its central relationship. Jesse Eisenberg's directorial effort is an interesting film, though not a brilliant one. Two cousins, David and Benji, embark on a Holocaust tour through Poland to honor their grandmother's memory, and what follows is a study in contrasts: David's anxious restraint against Benji's manic energy, comedy against pathos, the weight of historical trauma against the immediacy of personal pain. The balance of comedy and pathos here is what carries the film. Eisenberg understands how humor and grief coexist, how a tour bus full of people confronting unimaginable historical horror can still contain petty irritations, awkward moments, genuine laughter. The tonal shifts work; the film breathes in ways that feel true to how people actually navigate difficult emotional terrain. The weakness is focus, or rather the lack of it. This wants to be a film about family, tolerance, and love, about two cousins trying to reconnect across the distance that's grown between them, about understanding someone whose pain manifests as chaos. That film would have ranked much higher. Instead, it keeps returning to the Holocaust tour itself, developing that subject too thoroughly, and the result feels diffuse. The historical weight and the personal story never quite merge into a coherent whole; they compete for attention rather than illuminating each other. Eisenberg plays his trademark nebbish quite well, all nervous energy and apologetic existence. He knows this territory; David is a familiar type, the responsible one, the anxious accommodator. But Kieran Culkin is phenomenal here. His Benji is a highly believable manic depressive, charismatic and exhausting, capable of profound connection one moment and casual cruelty the next. Culkin makes you understand why people are drawn to Benji and why loving him is so difficult; he's magnetic and impossible simultaneously, and the performance never feels calculated or showy. It's raw, lived-in work. His performance is worth the price of admission.

Publisher: Marco-Hugo Landeta Vacas October 18, 2026
(CASTELLANO) Una herida heredada que se ríe justo antes de doler Me gustó bastante. Tiene algo pequeño, sencillo y muy humano que funciona muy bien: dos primos viajando por Polonia para conectar con la memoria de su abuela y, al mismo tiempo, chocando todo el rato porque cada uno lleva el dolor de una forma distinta. No es una película enorme, pero sí de esas que parecen ligeras y luego van dejando más poso del que aparentan. La pareja principal sostiene todo. Jesse Eisenberg está en su registro de nervios, rigidez, ansiedad y control, pero aquí eso encaja muy bien con David. Es un hombre correcto, educado, contenido, de los que intentan que todo salga bien aunque por dentro estén llenos de incomodidad. Frente a él, Benji es justo lo contrario: expansivo, imprevisible, encantador, insoportable y profundamente triste. Kieran Culkin se come muchas escenas, y eso tiene mérito porque el personaje podía haber sido solo “el primo raro que da vergüenza”. Benji interrumpe, incomoda, hace bromas cuando no debe, invade espacios ajenos y parece incapaz de comportarse como se espera. Pero debajo de esa energía hay un dolor real, una herida que no sabe ordenar. Por eso puede resultar irritante y magnético a la vez. Lo interesante es que la película no juzga fácil a ninguno de los dos. David parece el adulto funcional, pero también es envidioso, reprimido y cobarde emocionalmente. Benji parece el desastre, pero muchas veces es quien percibe antes la falsedad, la solemnidad vacía o la necesidad de mirar de verdad a las personas. Uno se protege controlándolo todo; el otro se rompe delante de todos. La escena del cementerio judío me gustó mucho. Cuando Benji hace callar al guía para que recuerden a las personas enterradas, no lo viví como una simple salida de tono. Es incómodo, claro, pero también tiene sentido: hay momentos en que la explicación turística puede convertirse en ruido, en una forma educada de pasar por encima del dolor. Benji, con todas sus formas caóticas, entiende eso. La película acierta al tratar el Holocausto sin convertirlo en postal solemne ni en lección de museo. El viaje tiene algo de turismo de memoria, y eso podía salir muy mal, pero Eisenberg encuentra un tono delicado: hay humor, torpeza, culpa, curiosidad, vergüenza y respeto. Los personajes no saben del todo cómo comportarse ante ese pasado, y esa duda me parece honesta. También me gustó la música. Ese Chopin ligado a Polonia le da una melancolía muy especial, y además me conectó con mis propios recuerdos de cuando aprendía música de pequeño. No es una banda sonora que subraye de forma burda, sino una presencia que acompaña el viaje con una tristeza elegante, casi familiar. El desahogo de David en el restaurante es una de las mejores escenas. Ahí sale todo: cariño, rabia, envidia, agotamiento, culpa y esa sensación de querer muchísimo a alguien que también te consume. David no odia a Benji; lo quiere, pero está cansado de orbitar alrededor de su caos. Y al mismo tiempo le duele que Benji tenga una facilidad para conectar con los demás que él no tiene. Esa ambivalencia está muy bien observada. Hay familias en las que uno parece cargar con la estabilidad y otro con el carisma, uno con las normas y otro con la emoción. La película entiende lo injusto que puede sentirse eso para ambos. Benji sufre, pero David también sufre al lado de Benji. Y ninguno de los dos sabe traducir bien ese dolor. Puede parecer una película muy escrita, incluso un poco calculada en su equilibrio entre risa y tristeza, pero no me molestó demasiado porque las emociones llegan limpias. Es breve, va al grano y no necesita grandes giros. Su fuerza está en los roces, en los silencios después de una broma, en la incomodidad de no saber qué hacer con una pena heredada. El grupo del viaje también ayuda. No son personajes profundísimos, pero dan contexto y permiten ver cómo Benji afecta a todos: a veces ilumina la escena, a veces la sabotea, a veces dice justo lo que nadie se atreve a decir. Ese efecto expansivo explica por qué David lo quiere y por qué no puede más con él. Lo que más valoro es que no ofrece una solución fácil. El viaje no cura a nadie ni ordena mágicamente la vida de los primos. Volver al lugar del dolor familiar no garantiza entenderlo todo. A veces solo permite mirarlo un poco mejor, aceptar que hay heridas que se heredan y que cada uno las lleva como puede. Al final, me queda como una comedia dramática muy bonita, triste y contenida. Me hizo sonreír, me incomodó y me tocó más de lo que esperaba. Kieran Culkin está espléndido, Eisenberg sabe acompañarlo sin competir y la película encuentra un tono difícil: ligero sin ser superficial, doloroso sin volverse tremendista. Una pequeña historia sobre familia, memoria y dolor que se queda dentro. (ENGLISH) An inherited wound that laughs just before it hurts I liked it quite a lot. It has something small, simple and very human that works very well: two cousins travelling through Poland to connect with the memory of their grandmother and, at the same time, clashing constantly because each of them carries pain in a different way. It is not a huge film, but it is one of those that seem light and then leave more behind than they first suggest. The central pair carries everything. Jesse Eisenberg stays within his register of nerves, stiffness, anxiety and control, but here that fits David very well. He is a correct, polite, contained man, the kind who tries to make everything go smoothly even though inside he is full of discomfort. Opposite him, Benji is the exact opposite: expansive, unpredictable, charming, unbearable and deeply sad. Kieran Culkin steals many scenes, and that matters because the character could have been only “the weird cousin who embarrasses everyone”. Benji interrupts, makes people uncomfortable, jokes when he should not, invades other people’s spaces and seems unable to behave as expected. But beneath that energy there is real pain, a wound he does not know how to put in order. That is why he can be irritating and magnetic at the same time. What is interesting is that the film does not judge either of them easily. David seems like the functional adult, but he is also jealous, repressed and emotionally cowardly. Benji seems like the disaster, but often he is the one who first senses falseness, empty solemnity or the need to really look at people. One protects himself by controlling everything; the other breaks in front of everyone. I liked the Jewish cemetery scene a lot. When Benji makes the guide be quiet so they can remember the people buried there, I did not see it as just another outburst. It is uncomfortable, of course, but it also makes sense: there are moments when tourist explanation can become noise, an educated way of stepping over pain. Benji, with all his chaotic manners, understands that. The film succeeds in treating the Holocaust without turning it into a solemn postcard or a museum lesson. The journey has something of memory tourism, and that could have gone very wrong, but Eisenberg finds a delicate tone: there is humor, awkwardness, guilt, curiosity, shame and respect. The characters do not fully know how to behave before that past, and that uncertainty feels honest to me. I also liked the music. That Chopin tied to Poland gives the film a very special melancholy, and it also connected me with my own memories of learning music as a child. It is not a soundtrack that underlines things crudely, but a presence that accompanies the journey with an elegant, almost familiar sadness. David’s outburst in the restaurant is one of the best scenes. Everything comes out there: affection, anger, envy, exhaustion, guilt and the feeling of loving someone very much while also being consumed by them. David does not hate Benji; he loves him, but he is tired of orbiting around his chaos. And at the same time it hurts him that Benji has an ease with other people that he does not. That ambivalence is very well observed. There are families in which one person seems to carry stability and another charisma, one rules and the other emotion. The film understands how unfair that can feel for both of them. Benji suffers, but David also suffers beside Benji. And neither of them knows how to translate that pain well. It may feel like a very written film, even a little calculated in its balance between laughter and sadness, but that did not bother me much because the emotions arrive cleanly. It is brief, direct and does not need big twists. Its strength is in the friction, in the silences after a joke, in the discomfort of not knowing what to do with inherited grief. The travel group also helps. They are not extremely deep characters, but they give context and allow us to see how Benji affects everyone: sometimes he lights up the scene, sometimes he sabotages it, sometimes he says exactly what nobody dares to say. That expansive effect explains why David loves him and why he cannot take any more of him. What I value most is that it does not offer an easy solution. The journey does not cure anyone or magically put the cousins’ lives in order. Returning to the place of family pain does not guarantee understanding everything. Sometimes it only allows you to look at it a little better, to accept that some wounds are inherited and that each person carries them however they can. In the end, for me it remains a very beautiful, sad and restrained dramedy. It made me smile, made me uncomfortable and touched me more than I expected. Kieran Culkin is splendid, Eisenberg knows how to accompany him without competing, and the film finds a difficult tone: light without being superficial, painful without becoming melodramatic. A small story about family, memory and pain that stays inside.