‘A Real Pain’ is a Real Pleasure

“A Real Pain” is an authentic portrait of deep-rooted distress.

Starring, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain” follows cousins David and Benji reconnecting with their Jewish heritage after their grandmother’s death. As the two former best friends embark on a history tour in Poland, they reckon with where their family came from and where they ended up individually.

David and Benji contextualize their struggle to remain connected to one another and reach emotional catharsis by visiting Holocaust memorials. In exploring an ancestral home they’ve never known, the cousins look introspectively at where their friendship went awry and how their shared mourning brings unity.

Playing David, Eisenberg (“The Social Network,” “Zombieland”) is a skittish introvert who takes comfort in stability. Eisenberg’s portrayal of the advertising sales family man is impassive and straight-laced, yet confidence is enticed within David by Benji’s risk-taking behavior.

Kieran Culkin effortlessly commands the screen as Benji. The impish cousin is a blunt extrovert prone to rash decisions and light-hearted antics. Culkin (“Succession,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”) leaps with Olympic ease between bouts of excitement and off-putting brashness. 

Culkin’s multi-faceted performance clinches “A Real Pain” as a magnetic watch. Layered beneath Benji’s cheerful persona is a grief-stricken center. A stagnant stoner shattered by his grandmother’s death, Benji aggressively switches between childish joy and depressive mood swings.

Through Benji’s emotional whiplash, Culkin’s pathos radiates from the screen. His standout performance is further elevated by Eisenberg’s observant portrayal of David. The cousins’ contrasting personalities propel the film’s heart and drive home its ironic sense of humor.

“We shouldn’t have to pay for train tickets in Poland. This is our country,” Benji says in the film.

“No, it’s not,” David responds. “It was our country. They kicked us out ‘cause they thought we were cheap.”

In dual roles as actor and filmmaker, Eisenberg evolves his directorial skills in his sophomore feature release following 2022’s “When You Finish Saving the World.” 

The Polish landscape of “A Real Pain” is placed front and center, bringing the audience along with the cousins’ heritage tour to relish various aspects of Polish culture — from the hidden history of modern streets to the rural villages rife with personality. Polish cities Warsaw and Lublin reverently showcase their tranquility in all avenues.

Contrastly, David and Benji showcase their boyishness by hitching free train rides and climbing rooftops to get high. The two turn Poland’s calm streets into a playground, as they reminisce on their childhood and exercise their current struggles.

Eisenberg balances the witty banter with slower moments of contemplation. When touring Nazi death camps, the film ceases the buddy-dramedy beat to solemnly dignify the setting with silence.

“A Real Pain” is thoughtful, yet concise. Running just an hour-and-half, the characters wear their personalities on their sleeves to allow space for conversation. Between the serene tours and playful antics, David and Benji dissect what it means to be in pain — emotionally, physically and existentially — and if it can be overcome.

By the end of the tour both the characters and audience reach a place of personal understanding. Pain doesn’t need to be visible to be present, and seeming at peace doesn’t mean it’s gone.

Though the characters struggle with shame and guilt, viewing the film is anything but “A Real Pain.”

“A Real Pain,” rated R, comes to theaters Nov. 15.