What is the pain referenced in the title of A Real Pain? Our main characters are depressive, though they show it in completely different ways. They’re visiting Poland to partake in a days-long tour of Holocaust rememberence. They’re also cousins whose grandmother recently passed away. The layers of grief are such that you might find it hard to believe that this movie is a comedy. It’s actually a particularly funny comedy. Written, directed and starring Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain moves at the staccato rhythms of his familiar delivery – acerbic, wry, melancholy. Across from Eisenberg is Kieran Culkin, an actor whose manic presence is like an untamed fire hose, unpredictable and messy. The contrasts between them, and the awkwardness that they create, is meant to be the central dramatic pull of the story.
Eisenberg is David, a married father who lives in New York City. Culkin is Benji, an unemployed pothead who lives in Binghamton. When their beloved grandmother passes away, they agree to take a week-long trip together to her hometown in Poland. She intentionally left money to allow them to go on this pilgrimage – one last gift from the beyond – in an effort to keep her two grandchildren close. David’s demanding work and parental responsibilities can be hard to schedule around, but he’s made a point to be there for Benji, who’s struggled with their grandmother’s death, as well as other mental health issues. Where David is reserved and quiet, Benji is brash and extroverted. David is so worried about public niceties that he keeps people at an arm’s length, Benji is so brutally honest (and flatly rude) that people can’t help but fall in love with him.
They join a tour led by James (Will Sharpe), a British academic with a specialty in Eastern Europe. James is polished in his delivery, quick to offer trigger warnings over difficult subject matter that may arise, and always ready with appropriate information when needed. The tour includes a Rwadan Jewish convert named Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), a melancholy divorcee named Marcia (Jennifer Grey), and an older married couple named Mark (Daniel Oreskes) and Diane (Liza Sadovy). With every stop, Benji vacillates wildly between endearing and disagreeable – challenging everyone at least once (often more than once) to really embrace the pain and tragedy of what they’re witnessing. His biggest target is Dave, whose middle class lifestyle alienates Benji, who accuses his cousin of hiding his true emotions.
And so the film goes on, with Culkin being the schlemiel to Eisenberg’s schlimazel. Eisenberg crafts some genuinely funny sequences, and other moments of situational awkwardness, that would make Noah Baumbach cry with pride. Anyone who’s watched Succession knows that Culkin’s ability to switch from irascible brat to injured child is unmatched, and A Real Pain milks that for all that it’s worth. I’m just not sure that this movie has anything too unique or substantial to say about grief. Benji is a fascinating movie character because he’s so larger than life, but his volatility is difficult to ignore. Culkin is too off-leash in a performance that’s almost anti-interiority. Appropriate for a broader film, perhaps, but Eisenberg is attempting to get into some serious business here. He then stacks the deck in a reveal halfway through the film, tipping the scale in Benji’s favor even after we’ve seen how unpleasant he can be.
I greatly enjoy Eisenberg as an actor. The discomfort he feels in his own skin can be played both for laughs or for pathos. A Real Pain feels almost too self-deprecating. This isn’t the first time we’ve watched an Eisenberg character become embittered as someone else behaves badly without consequences. Filtered through filmmakers like Baumbach or David Fincher (or throughout the fabulous mini-series of Fleishman Is In Trouble), this insecurity can be played to great depth. Depth is a real issue with A Real Pain, which never really finds a take on what it’s even about. Jewish guilt? Cousin rivalry? The return of Jennifer Grey? In many ways the film attempts to become about all those things, but stops just short and settles for the easy laughs of putting the mismatched pair of Eisenberg and Culkin together. A fine set-up for a comedy, but this movie aspires to much more.
Written and Directed by Jesse Eisenberg