A Real Pain-Movie Review

By Christian Hernandez

A Real Pain is Jesse Eisenberg’s follow-up directorial outing following his debut, When You Finish Saving the World. The film once again follows two polar opposite family members, David, played by Eisenberg, and Benji, played by Kieran Culkin. The two are Jewish cousins who reunite for a tour through Poland as they honor their grandmother who recently passed. What follows is a pretty by-the-numbers “road-trip” comedy that is immensely carried by Culkin’s melancholic performance and Eisenberg’s tight script.

Culkin is an absolute force in this, carrying much of the film on his shoulders, delivering hilarious lines but being able to hide the darkness that lingers inside Benji’s character. There are many moments where Benji is seen slowly losing it and bouncing off the walls. He’s a complex character, an eccentric and outgoing individual who carries himself high but is pulled back down by his own dark reality and coming to terms with not only losing the closest person to him but also with his own history as well. 

The use of Poland and the Holocaust is used mainly as a backdrop for the story, being the main setting and allowing our characters to follow their paths of self-reflection and realization. However, Eisenberg treats it with so much care and respect that it never feels pandering or self-indulgent. 

Coming in at just under 90 minutes, it does feel much longer than the runtime. Many scenes feel as though they’re dragging on. It’s not a slow burn but it plays out as one, or at least it felt like it. For as funny as the movie is, many of the emotional scenes aren’t as heavy as implied, not hitting the full emotional impact that are set up throughout. 

It’s a beautiful-looking movie, with stunning cinematography from Michal Dymek. Eisenberg shot on location in Poland, and Dymek goes for a full frame approach, with a tall aspect ratio allowing for the entire beauty of Poland to be on display. From sweeping landscapes to run-down alleys, Eisenberg captures the beauty of the city with compassion and warmth, the colors deep and saturated. In the movie’s most pivotal scene, shot on location in a concentration camp, the use of empty space feels engulfing, not only for the viewer but for the tour members themselves. 

What starts off as a ‘buddy-comedy’ does get to blossom into a more complex study of how men each deal with pain and loss, and what they consider ‘real pain’, but it ultimately does suffer from uneven pacing, that can be mostly overlooked by the strong performances. It’s a strong 3/5 star movie, but I always say we need more of those in our lives. Eisenberg is beginning to cement himself as someone who has the juice.