PARK CITY – There are multiple meanings to the title of Jesse Eisenberg’s latest directorial effort, “A Real Pain.” There is the pain that cousins Benji Kaplan (Eisenberg) and David Kaplan (Kieran Culkin) are experiencing over the passing of their beloved grandmother, and there is the pain Benji is feeling over a horrifying incident in his cousin’s life. The most pressing example, however, is in David’s soul. Behind the charismatic mask and outgoing personality is someone in extreme emotional pain. And, certainly last, but not least, it’s hard to ignore that David’s frenetic and unfiltered demeanor is, well, a pain in the a**. So, it may not be the most appealing title, but it’s authentic.
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Debuting at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, “A Real Pain” has a pretty straightforward narrative to tell, although don’t take that to infer Eisenberg doesn’t have something to say. Close cousins when they were younger, the now late thirtysomethings have signed up for a tour of Jewish landmarks in Poland. On the last day, they are planning on breaking off from the group to visit the home their grandmother fled right before World War II. Their initial interactions at the airport immediately tell you almost everything you need to know about their very different personalities.
Benji is the more responsible, slightly timid, and OCD traveler, while David is more spontaneous, with absolutely no filter for anyone he meets. He’s a social butterfly and often oblivious to everyday social etiquette. Case in point, despite Benji purposefully booking a window seat for their overseas flight, he snags it from him without even thinking about it. Someone else might call David out, but Benji lets it pass. Something we later learn is a fixture of their relationship.
The pair arrive in Poland and quickly meet their tour’s fellow travelers. Led by the British (and admittedly not Jewish) James (Will Sharpe), the other attendees include a recent divorcee who has recently escaped Los Angeles, Marcia (Jennifer Grey), a survivor of the Rwandan genocide who has converted to Judaism, Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), and a retired couple who become unexpected witnesses, Diane (Liza Saovy) and Mark (Daniel Oreskes). Initially, the life of the party, the longer the tour progresses, the more David begins to instigate conflict. Despite Benji seeing it coming a mile away, he simply can’t help himself. He loses patience with James’ narration during their tour stops (which is, um, his job) and has a breakdown over the travelers being in first class on a train to visit a concentration camp.
Benji, who has a career and a family back in Brooklyn, grows increasingly impatient with his relative. He loves him dearly and the spontaneity he can bring into his life (they illegally smoke joints on the roof of Polish buildings more than once). But his behavior is an embarrassment. Despite his fears for David, Benji needs/hopes his cousin can grow up or at least find some peace.
The themes of modern, shared, and hereditary pain pepper the movie without engulfing it. As the tour progresses, the traveling party explores the Jewish quarter of Lublin before eventually visiting the Majdanek Concentration Camp. Does this experience bring David down to earth? Perhaps for a moment, but what haunts him cuts deep.
Eisenberg’s direction is restrained but runs with David’s freneticism when it takes over the story. Oh, he also has become a bit of a wiz at comedy. Yes, don’t let the seriousness of this review fool you. This movie is super funny, and both Eisenberg and Culkin work off each other like the solid pros they now are. It doesn’t hurt that the multi-hyphenate Sharpe (“The White Lotus,” Channel 4’s “Flowers”) is in the fold.
While Eisenberg is excellent on screen, especially during a dinner scene when he unloads his concerns over David to his fellow tourists, it’s Culkin who, rightfully, steals the film. The blunt nature of Culkin’s character will initially remind many of his heralded portrayal of Roman Roy on “Succession,” but David is a very different beast. The movie begins with a shot of David and ends with a shot of him. And in between, Culkin subtly crafts a portrait of a man who is not all that he seems. Even if he has the skills to convince his cousin, he’s really alright. Or is he? [A-/B+]
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