Review

A Real Pain, the sophomore effort from actor/writer/director Jesse Eisenberg, combines elements of a mismatched buddy dramedy with a travelogue. The latter transforms parts of Poland from a setting to a character. In fact, there are times when the human actors are upstaged by the place in which the narrative unspools. Not much happens externally during the course of the film's 90-odd minutes. It's about two cousins, Benji and David Kaplan (Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg), who have come to visit the birthland of their recently deceased grandmother as a way of gaining better understanding of the challenges of her life. Along the way, they connect, disconnect, and re-connect with one another. Theirs is a story that goes back well before the movie starts and will continue long after it ends.

Benji and David travel around Poland as part of a small tour group, starting in Warsaw then moving on to places like Lublin. Everyone except the leader, an engaging Brit named James (Will Sharpe) is Jewish. Marcia (Jennifer Grey) is by herself, seeking to find a path forward after her husband has unexpectedly ditched her. There's also an older couple, Mark and Diane (Daniel Oreskes and Liza Sadovy), and Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), a convert to Judaism who sought the solace of the religion after surviving the Rwandan genocide. Eisenberg gives the secondary characters their moments but this is first and foremost Benji and David's story so that's where the focus rests.

In order to appreciate A Real Pain, one has to downshift into the mode of enjoying the interplay between the two as they wander around Poland. The complexity of their relationship lies at the screenplay's heart. The cousins have radically different personalities and this informs their interaction. Benji is outgoing, possibly bipolar (he has manic episodes and may have attempted suicide), and magnetic. David, who is married with a young child, is reticent and reserved, frequently overwhelmed by Benji's personality and feeling that he has to apologize for the excesses of his cousin. They're oil and vinegar but there are times when, shaken vigorously, they form an emulsion.

A Real Pain does not build to a big emotional climax. It is emotionally true and therefore not manipulative. It ends in the same low-key fashion that characterizes a majority of the film. And, although there are moments (small and large) when humor enters the screenplay, the proceedings tilt more toward drama than comedy. This is never more evident than in a somber, sober visit to a concentration camp. (The Majdanek camp, located near the city of Lublin, is situated in a location easily visible from all sides.)

A movie like this, with a minimalist plot, relies heavily on dialogue and acting. In the former case, Eisenberg crafts enough interesting passages to keep the viewer engaged. The two central performances are excellent, with Eisenberg opting for a less ostentatious portrayal than Culkin, who gets most of the best lines and nearly all the impactful moments. When it comes to pundits making shortlists for this year's nominations, his name will likely feature prominently. Thinking of The Odd Couple, Eisenberg is Jack Lemmon and Culkin is Walter Matthau. The secondary cast is mostly comprised of unfamiliar faces with one exception: Jennifer Grey, hardly recognizable as the co-star of Dirty Dancing all those years ago, plays Marcia. (It would be interesting to hear the story of how she was cast.)

The score is almost all piano and features a lot of Chopin. Less would have been better. There's entirely too much and it becomes both repetitious and distracting. I understand the underlying reason for this approach (Chopin being Polish - the airport in Warsaw is named after him), but there comes a time when it feels like overkill.

Sitting through this movie, I was reminded forcefully of Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise. The films have many of the same beats and cover some of the same ground (not literally). There's a lot of walking around an unfamiliar city, talking, and bonding. The obvious difference is that this is not a romance (or "bromance"), so that element is missing. Still, it's hard not to notice the similarities. A Real Pain will resonate most strongly with movie-goers who don't mind films in which conflict is internalized and where human interaction - simple, vivid, and unforced - takes center stage.

© 2024 James Berardinelli

Synopsis

Mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

Playing At

• Belcourt Theatre
  2102 Belcourt Avenue, Nashville, TN
• AMC Bellevue 12
  8125 Sawyer Brown Road, Nashville, TN
• Regal Opry Mills
  570 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville, TN
• Regal Streets of Indian Lake
  300 Indian Lake Boulevard - Building T, Hendersonville, TN