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That's how James, a tour guide, prepares his guests as they begin a "Holocaust tour" in Poland. The tour will include visits to the Warsaw Ghetto and Majdanek concentration camp, so all of that is indeed expected, but for cousins David and Benji Kaplan (Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin), pain and suffering and loss are closer. A Real Pain follows their attempt to reconnect and smooth some tensions after the death of their grandmother.
Evidently, my main motivation to watch this film is the fact that it has a couple of Oscar nominations. However, I was very much captivated by the story and relationship between the two main characters and how they relate with each other, and with others. On the surface, David is reserved, restrained, and maybe a bit OCD-ish, while Benji is more outspoken, a bit loud and abrasive. But beyond that, both characters have numerous layers and nuances that are interesting to see unfold and clash as the two try to see how they fit with each other.
The many ways that the script and direction (both from Eisenberg) build up these characters is really good, but a big part of that also goes to the actors. A lot of praise has gone to Culkin, who is the one that got the acting nomination, deservedly so. However, I think that Eisenberg deserves as much praise for his performance, on top of writing and directing the film. His script and direction have the patience to not dump everything on the audience, but to rather give us tidbits of what is going on beneath the surface of this complex relationship
Eisenberg's direction is very confident, even if it is not particularly "flashy". However, it doesn't have to be cause this is not a "directors" film. The key things here are the script and the performances, and how the combination of both builds these dimensional characters that we can all relate. The truth is that either we are a bit like either one of them, have a relative/friend that is like one of them, or maybe even want to be like one of them.
That is something that Eisenberg's character brings up during a crucial scene at dinner. The way that his relationship with Benji veers from resentment and anger to admiration and envy. David confesses as much with an incredibly poignant and heart-breaking monologue that I think is the peak of the film. What it reminds us is that no matter where you go and how much you try to distance from it; pain and suffering and loss, there's no getting around that.
Grade:
A REAL PAIN
(2024, Eisenberg)
(2024, Eisenberg)
"Now, it may seem obvious, but a word of warning, this will be a tour about pain... Pain and suffering and loss, there’s no getting around that."
That's how James, a tour guide, prepares his guests as they begin a "Holocaust tour" in Poland. The tour will include visits to the Warsaw Ghetto and Majdanek concentration camp, so all of that is indeed expected, but for cousins David and Benji Kaplan (Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin), pain and suffering and loss are closer. A Real Pain follows their attempt to reconnect and smooth some tensions after the death of their grandmother.
Evidently, my main motivation to watch this film is the fact that it has a couple of Oscar nominations. However, I was very much captivated by the story and relationship between the two main characters and how they relate with each other, and with others. On the surface, David is reserved, restrained, and maybe a bit OCD-ish, while Benji is more outspoken, a bit loud and abrasive. But beyond that, both characters have numerous layers and nuances that are interesting to see unfold and clash as the two try to see how they fit with each other.
The many ways that the script and direction (both from Eisenberg) build up these characters is really good, but a big part of that also goes to the actors. A lot of praise has gone to Culkin, who is the one that got the acting nomination, deservedly so. However, I think that Eisenberg deserves as much praise for his performance, on top of writing and directing the film. His script and direction have the patience to not dump everything on the audience, but to rather give us tidbits of what is going on beneath the surface of this complex relationship
Eisenberg's direction is very confident, even if it is not particularly "flashy". However, it doesn't have to be cause this is not a "directors" film. The key things here are the script and the performances, and how the combination of both builds these dimensional characters that we can all relate. The truth is that either we are a bit like either one of them, have a relative/friend that is like one of them, or maybe even want to be like one of them.
That is something that Eisenberg's character brings up during a crucial scene at dinner. The way that his relationship with Benji veers from resentment and anger to admiration and envy. David confesses as much with an incredibly poignant and heart-breaking monologue that I think is the peak of the film. What it reminds us is that no matter where you go and how much you try to distance from it; pain and suffering and loss, there's no getting around that.
Grade: