“A Real Pain” Review
Jesse Eisenberg (Left) and Kieran Culkin star as incompatible cousins on a group tour in Poland in “A Real Pain”, Eisenberg’s second film as a director as well as his second collaboration with the production company Fruit Tree.
One production company that has been rapidly gaining momentum in the world of indie cinema is Fruit Tree, founded by Emily Stone and Dave McCary. After making their own names in the business, Stone being a two-time Oscar-winning actor and McCary having directed on comedy series like “Epic Rap Battles of History” and “Saturday Night Live”, the pair have spent the past few years producing excellent films from talented auteurs like Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw the TV Glow” and Julio Torres’s “Problemista”. But the first film Fruit Tree ever produced was “When You Finish Saving The World” from one of Stone’s earliest collaborators, Jesse Eisenberg. Two years later, Eisenberg and the minds of Fruit Tree have reunited for the tough love comedy “A Real Pain” which not only showcases the creative talents of those involved but also makes for a heartwarming film with plenty of moments for emotional power and side-busting humor.
After the death of their grandmother, two cousins named Benji (Kieran Culkin) and David (Jesse Eisenberg) travel to Poland to take part in a tour centered around the trauma of The Holocaust both to honor their Jewish heritage and to celebrate their grandmother’s survival through one of history’s greatest atrocities. With David being a husband, father and much more neurotic and Benji having a carefree existence, the pair’s differences come to a head over the course of the trip. But as the pair experience the same journey, they begin to find an understanding that will change their relationship with their pasts and with each other.
With so much of the weight of this film being placed upon the leads, the chemistry between Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin cements a brotherly bond (despite the pair being cousins) that is going to ring several bells with people who have siblings, especially if they’re separated by distance and live different lives. Eisenberg’s more self-conscious approach to his performance is a perfect contrast to Culkin but he never comes off as a stick-in-the-mud. Instead, he plays it like someone who loves his cousin but also doesn’t want to get in trouble. After all, Benji has every right to be fine with getting in trouble for boarding a Polish train without paying for a ticket but David has to think more about the consequences of his actions since he has others depending on him.
Culkin’s turn as Benji is engrossing because he’s always one-step away from being a pain in the ass but there’s so much likability to him. This is evident in his interactions with the other members of the tour group, most of which are also Jewish. He engages with them on a much deeper level, unburdened by mindless pleasantries or average conversations. He will use words like “fuck” or “shit” in his conversations but it never seems like he’s doing so to be a prick. He’s just being a lively presence and when Benji needs to be somber and reflect on the painful history being dug up by this tour, Culkin really moves you.
Along with his direction and acting, Eisenberg’s script is a wonderful exercise in balancing harsh drama with superb comedy. After all, The Holocaust, even if it's being told through reflection eighty years after the fact, is a tough subject to tackle. However, humor can be an excellent source of healing and “A Real Pain” is well aware of this. If anything, it’s necessary. Seeing the tour group pose gallantly alongside a monument for those that fought in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising or having Benji and David dodging train personnel will make you laugh earnestly but then a scene where they visit a concentration camp will humble you.
On a side note, I appreciated that this film was set during warmer weather. Not only because Poland looks absolutely beautiful in this film, but whenever I think of The Holocaust or read books like Elie Wiesel’s “Night”, I can only picture the camps in the dead of winter with thick layers of snow to match the frozen humanity of those administering these places of death. So when Eisenberg and director of photography Michal Dymek (much of the crew are natives of Poland) depict these places with lush greenery, it reminds me that these horrible places are real. Something about seeing green grass in a concentration camp makes it become more than just a place in a scene in a film.
There were moments in “A Real Pain” where I was crying from laughter and then five minutes later I would be welling up from the emotion of confronting their people’s collective pain. While the film’s subject matter may be of discomfort to some who might want to avoid such unpleasantness, I think that most audience members will be able to handle the film since it is such a strong comedy. It’s just a comedy that has a delicate sense of balance, providing an effective look at how the descendents of those who were put through extensive trauma cope with that generational responsibility. So if you want a film that is going to give you plenty of laughs but have a bit more depth to its characters, “A Real Pain” is going to be pleasant, emotional and loving all in one package.
