Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. Writer-director Jesse Eisenberg’s intimate, resonant script complements the tension and humor of the two very different cousins’ tumultuous road trip with a sensitively drawn reckoning of the legacy of World War II among the survivors of survivors. While Benji’s irreverent charm only partially masks his deep melancholy, David’s frustration with and genuine love for his cousin become achingly clear. Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin give devastating, funny performances as characters grappling with their grandmother’s history and the ways their own lives have diverged. Michał Dymek’s eloquent cinematography and a Chopin-driven score bind the tour group’s complicated, emotional reaction to the Polish setting into the texture of the film.
“A frequently laugh-out-loud funny odd couple road trip movie whose emotional wallop sneaks up and floors you…. With A REAL PAIN, [writer-director Jesse Eisenberg] demonstrates impeccable judgment and great skill at balancing sardonic wit with piercing solemnity in a movie full of feeling, in which no emotion is unearned.” —David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter “The idea of having excessive burping and weed in a movie that takes place on a Holocaust tour might sound risky or even impossible to execute respectfully, but somehow, director Jesse Eisenberg not only gets away with it but creates something of a masterpiece with A REAL PAIN. A pitch-perfect dramedy….” —Taylor Gates, Collider “A delight and a revelation — a deft, funny, heady, beautifully staged ramble of a road movie…. A buddy movie rooted in the existential fun of verbal sparring. Yet it has an emotional kick that sneaks up on you.” —Owen Gleiberman, Variety
