Jesse Eisenberg’s second directorial and screenwriting effort A REAL PAIN is about a journey through Jewish history in Poland and the remnants of one of the most horrible crimes in human history. At the same time, the film also takes a tour through the psyche of two entirely different and broken people who have lost touch as adults and have found each other again due to the death of their grandmother. A sometimes unsubtle but all the more effective character study about self discovery and envy, goodbyes and trauma.

David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) Kaplan are cousins who couldn’t be more different: David earns his money be selling ads online and lives in a wealthy New York neighborhood with his family. He is reserved, obsessive, and has problems approaching interpersonal situations. Benji, on the other hand, is unemployed, lives in his mother’s basement, and uses spontaneity and charm to disguise the deep-seated helplessness that has tormented him since the death of his grandmother. Together they embark on a journey to Poland to find out about their family's Jewish past and to come to terms with the death of their grandmother.

A REAL PAIN succeeds in combining humor with intergenerational trauma primarily because of Kieran Culkin’s acting. One second you’re laughing with or at Benji and he’s already pulling the rug out from under you the next. With just a facial expression, he transports a whole series of emotions – framed by Eisenberg’s supportive acting and staging that systematically alternates between dialogue and sightseeing.

Lukas Hoffmann

Translation: Elinor Lewy