The film A Real Pain is a delicate portrait of two young men, cousins David and Benjji, touring around Poland and memorializing the Holocaust in honor of their late grandmother. The film, from director, writer, and star Jesse Eisenberg, is worth seeking out for a number of reasons. For example, it’s at times uproariously funny and at others devastating. **Will Sharpe of The White Lotus fame turns in a memorable performance as James, a well-meaning tour guide. And its cinematography manages to communicate the beauty of Poland directly on screen.
But the story of A Real Pain is Kieran Culkin turning in a signature performance that takes the chaotic but somehow charming energy of Roman Roy and plugs it into the free-spirited Benji Kaplan. In turns supremely charming and incredibly grating, Benji is a character who you can’t look away from, ** and Culkin’s performance gives the movie a zest and an edge that most Sundance dramedies are lacking. By bouncing Culkin’s performance off of Eisenberg’s straight-laced David, A Real Pain finds two modern avatars for that constant search for meaning, a couple of generations removed from the Holocaust.
And that reminds me of one more of the big reasons A Real Pain is a film worth seeking out: Its portrayal of the Holocaust frankly reminds audiences of just how hideous that horror was, and how long its shockwaves can reverberate through generations. Eisenberg’s script takes the Holocaust’s legacy seriously and his direction allows audiences to slow down and feel the weight of it when he needs them to.
Between the two of them, Jesse Einsenberg and Kieran Culkin have turned a little road dramedy into one of the best films of the year. A Real Pain is in theaters now.
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