Whenever an actor makes the conscious decision to become a multi-hyphenate, I’m usually quite interested in catching the end result pretty early in the process. Sometimes their progression can be subtle, other times they might whiff with a miss and the rare occasion is the home run on their very first try. Jesse Eisenberg has decided to showcase a variety of his talents with the film, A Real Pain, and I’m here for it.
In this relatively small tale, two cousins travel to Poland to see where their grandmother was from, after her death. In taking the Heritage Tour together (which was her final wish), the now-distant guys hope to learn about her struggles and appreciate her life a little more, while possibly reconnecting their friendship and family bond.
David (played by Jesse Eisenberg) is absolutely strait laced and kind of a lightweight. A stickler for following the rules, he has a wife and a kid and doesn’t visit his cousin very often anymore. Benji (Kieran Culkin) is controlling, rude and he always bends the rules. He doesn’t really have a lot of things currently going on, he has an up-then-down personality, he’s overly sensitive at times and usually has a carefree attitude. Reunited after years of being apart, the guys must reintroduce themselves to one another before embarking on a “geriatric Polish tour,” and then the healing can truly begin.
“You’re not going to find much suffering in the back of the train.”
About the only thing they have in common is their shared pain, suffering and loss, but each one is a polar opposite in how they express themselves. Grandmother Dory supposedly survived a thousand miracles and escaped her European concentration camp before raising a family in America, but those enormous hurdles pale in comparison to the obstacles between David and Benji.
Neither character is very good at communicating their true feelings, so when they are trapped within a small hotel room and must spend their entire trip together, you can imagine the emotional spark that will eventually set off the noisy fireworks.
At one point, Jesse Eisenberg was the go-to geeky high-schooler in just about every film, comedy or not. He absolutely knew his role and understood it well, because he was everywhere. He grew older with this role until graduating to something else, entirely.
I guess I haven’t paid much attention to his more recent projects. Maybe he’s been preparing for this work-life transition for a minute. While this isn’t his first writing-directing-producing gig, it is his biggest one to date and it’s noteworthy for the current awards season.
Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures, © 2024 Searchlight Pictures.
When I first realized that Eisenberg was the sole writer and director of this movie (as well as producer, but actually he’s joined by 13 others!!!), I was initially hesitant. Not because I didn’t think he could do a fine job — it’s passable, more on that in a minute — but joining him in this tale of a dysfunctional family was none other than Emma Stone and her husband, Dave McCary, as producers (among the rest). As weird as I Saw the TV Glow was, I simply didn’t like their series, The Curse, at all. I simply wasn’t sure if I would actually appreciate A Real Pain.
Much like The Curse, A Real Pain is full of dark, dry humor that makes uncomfortable situations absolutely miserable. Looking back at the horrors of history, as well as these character’s dynamics, it’s incredibly depressing. The awkward humor hits a little too close to home, at times. Because of this, it took me an extended amount of time to completely watch this film, even though its total runtime is just under an hour and a half. The whole thing just made me feel miserable, which I could only take a little bit at a time.
But there is some great, constant classical music underscoring the seriousness (as well as the absurdity) of the script.
Now, the acting is definitely the biggest highlight of the film. On top of all of the other responsibilities, Eisenberg’s Dave is emotionally tormented. His sadness is buried deep beneath the surface, somewhere near his soul. But when the time finally arrives to express his feelings, it’s like an emotional volcano! Now, Benji doesn’t have such restrictions to his feelings. They are always free flowing, which makes his character an “all-encompassing person.” That’s a spot-on description, provided by the script.
The reason why I feel like Eisenberg, the filmmaker, is the true pain here, instead of the obvious pain-in-the-butt character, is the storyline. Instead of wrapping things up nicely after the guys have their “come-to Jesus” moment, which only happens while they’re high, smoking on a rooftop, nothing has actually changed about them. They’re both still dealing with their own traumas, but now they’re apart. What an incredible letdown. Watching two bickering characters for an entire movie and getting no resolution? Where’s the development? Eisenberg obviously didn’t graduate from Screenwriting 101.
Since I neither subscribe to any premium cable channels nor streaming services, I’ve never watched Succession before, I but definitely remember Culkin from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and I’m glad to see he’s getting much-earned props this year. I really think he deserves an Oscar nom, at the very least, for his role here as Benji, and with some luck, he’ll win multiple trophies leading up to the gala. A Big Pain is starting to receive recognition from different critics’ groups for a variety of categories, but I really don’t think the other categories are as strong. I will be nominating Culkin for Best Supporting Actor in this year’s Music City Film Critics Association Awards.
Wrapping up A Real Pain, my main thoughts revolve around the unresolved tension between the guys, even though their situation has slightly improved from the beginning of the film. This grieving, odd couple was an interesting pair for a movie. I’d like to see them reteam for another adventure at some point — preferably one that doesn’t involve Jesse’s former Zombieland costar and hubby.
“You are, like, an awesome guy, stuck inside the body of someone who’s always late.”