REVIEW: “A Real Pain” (2024)


WRITER’S NOTE: The following was originally posted on my Facebook page on February 21, 2025. 

For his second theatrical effort as a screenwriter and director, actor Jesse Eisenberg steps behind and in front of the camera with an original comedy-drama about two estranged cousins who go on a Holocaust tour in Europe, in memory of their late grandmother. What follows is a madcap and strangely endearing saga about reconnection. 

Kieran Culkin has been getting numerous accolades for his live-wire supporting role as lonely cousin Benji, opposite Eisenberg’s family man David. Both form one of the year’s standout screen duos. The former is a force of nature: energetic and foul-mouthed, but also capable of understanding and empathy. (It’s implied that he had a special relationship with his grandmother, hence a reason for his erratic state.) 

The film’s classical soundtrack makes it feel like an international arthouse feature in the style of a Woody Allen comedy from the 1970s, complete with rapid-fire dialogue and multi-layered characters and relationships. Exposition is told through linear action and conversations, while Michał Dymek’s cinematography catches a few moments at magic hour. 

A Real Pain is also an incredible travelogue of Poland—what it is today, and what still remains from generations ago. With that in mind, this is not only a tour about revisiting and honoring the past (other characters on the tour represent different versions of the Jewish experience), but also about dealing with pain and trauma, both historically and personally. The same goes for feelings and regrets regarding survivor’s guilt and privilege, as well as PTSD, mental health, and complicated family dynamics. (“You light up a room,” David tells Benji, “and you s—t on everything inside of it.”) 

A few scenes feature the titular duo sneaking onto hotel rooftops to get high (“We numb ourselves to avoid thinking about our impact”), while another sequence finds Benji and David sneaking onto a train without paying while walking down the central corridor. With aforementioned themes of loneliness, sadness, and the need for connection and community, A Real Pain is a dynamic, raw, energetic, and immersive dramedy. 

#filmfreeq #bekerianreviews #21stcenturycinema #searchlightpictures #jesseeisenberg #kierenculkin #arealpain2024

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