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A Real Pain

When the Academy Award nominations were announced on January 23, one of the most pleasant surprises was seeing Jesse Eisenberg receiving a nomination for Best Original Screenplay for his film A REAL PAIN. Though it was equally delightful to see his co-star Kieran Culkin land a Best Supporting Actor nod as well, that didn’t exactly shock me. He has been a mainstay this award season, most notably winning a Golden Globe for his fantastic performance. When it came to Eisenberg, however, the accolades haven’t been quite as voluminous as I thought that he deserved. Serving as writer, director, and co-star of a tender, challenging, thought-provoking, and introspective film, he illustrated that his talents extend far beyond what you see in front of the camera.

Cousins David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Culkin) were virtually inseparable growing up. As they grew older, as is often the case, the two followed different paths. David got married, had a child, and is amid a successful and rewarding career. Conversely, Benji still lives in his mother’s basement, bouncing around from one odd job to the next and has no meaningful relationships to speak of.

When their beloved grandmother passes away, she leaves some money behind for the boys to go on a trip to Poland together to learn more about their familial roots. As a Holocaust survivor, she lived a difficult life, and the duo look forward to not only reconnecting, but visiting their grandmother’s childhood home in the process.

Benji and David are ecstatic to see each other, and though it is obvious that they couldn’t be more different in their approach to life and everything it encompasses, there is a bond that exists that transcends any differences in opinions or lifestyles. It is this bond that is the driving force of A REAL PAIN, and the relationship between to the two performers feels wholly authentic from the first minute until the last. It is obvious that they have a comradery that extends far beyond the screen, and proves to be an intangible quality that is difficult to replicate had they been strangers, regardless of how great they are as performers.

Many elements of the typical buddy movie are here, but at the same time, there are other aspects that allow it to rise above most others in the genre. Eisenberg was well aware that there were narrative choices that he could have made that would have made the film more accessible and therefor garnered a larger audience, but the creative decisions he stuck with were in line with the film that he wanted to make. The give and take between the two leads is seamless, with Eisenberg serving as the neurotic straight man and Culkin tapping into the manic yet lovable mannerisms that made him a fan-favorite in SUCCESSION. Neither one ventures very far from the on-screen personalities that they tend to exhibit in many of their other projects, but it’s these mannerisms that make the characters so believable. Their interactions are equal measures hilarious and heart-breaking, blending comedy and drama with relative ease. While David is content to experience the journey as a surface-level exploration of his familial origins, Benji, who appears to have remained closer to his grandmother than his cousin was, suffers with the deep-rooted insecurities of privilege. While he and his fellow tourmates are eating breakfast in a first-class train car, he can’t help but to focus on the fact that there was a time, mere decades before, where the train rides for his people were far more horrifying. Though the current passengers are there for pleasure, there was time when that same ride resulted in incomprehensible pain. Eisenberg’s deft screenplay doesn’t shy away from the horrors that befell those who came before them, culminating in a near wordless venture to a concentration camp that is profoundly impactful for all of the things that are left unsaid.