Movie Breakdown: A Real Pain

Pre-Screening Stance:

A Real Pain has Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin – two total oddball bundles of anxiety – on a road trip together through Poland? Yeah, sign me up.

Post-Screening Ramble:

I really liked this little film, which was written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg. It’s a very melancholic stroll with a great sense of humor, and it carries an early 2000s indie feel that reminded me a lot of movies like Lost In Translation, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, and Garden State. The story is pretty simple (and the runtime is super breezy at just short of 90 minutes) – two cousins head to Poland so that they can tour the country and see the house where their recently deceased grandmother lived before she immigrated to the United States. David (Jesse Eisenberg) has his life together but Benji (Kieran Culkin) doesn’t, and so along with the weight of why they’re in Poland, there’s also a litany of stark differences between the two that they have to fumble through. Culkin is great here as Benji, a guy who is as erratic and obtuse as they come but also someone who’s a rather charming person, and then there’s Eisenberg as his usual fidgety self, but as always, he sells it. Perhaps most importantly though, the pair have a great, believable bit of chemistry together, and that’s ultimately what really carries the film.

A Real Pain is a pretty funny, often uncomfortable, and entirely heartfelt film that is very much worth your time. So, you should give it a go – it’s in theaters as of today, November 15.

One Last Thought:

I didn’t realize that Jennifer Gray was in this movie until I started prepping to knock out this review and took a stroll around IMDB. Despite her being in a good chunk of the film, I legit didn’t recognize her at all.