It would seem counterintuitive to cast Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as the leads in a heartwarming film about family bonds (not the prickly ones) and self-discovery.
Culkin just finished playing the ruthless, foul-mouthed media heir Roman Roy on HBO's Succession. And though Mr. Eisenberg has had a long and colorful career, he is still best known for his role as sub-zero Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in 2011's The Social Network.
You might think that perhaps these guys would be better off playing a pair of eccentric serial killers.
movie review
real pain
Running time: 90 minutes. Not rated yet.
But when this awkward pair comes together, they create magic in the fulfilling drama “A Real Pain,” which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday. The story of two cousins traveling to Poland to learn about their late grandmother's roots, it's one of the best films of this year's festival so far.
And the film marks a big step forward from 2022's When You Finish Saving The World, which marked Eisenberg's final run as writer-director. Yes, the spark was there, but it wasn't fully executed.
Everything falls into place here. His script for “A Real Pain,” inspired by details from his own life, is funny, poignant, and wise. The landscapes of European countries he captured are full of history and tragedy. And he brings out a performance from Culkin that rivals his extraordinary turn in Succession.
However, he's not a complete idiot.
Eisenberg frames the duo as the tried-and-true comedic combo of “The Odd Couple” Felix and Oscar, making us wonder if he's giving us a “National Lampoon genealogy vacation.” But the filmmakers subvert our expectations with every kilometer.
David (Eisenberg) is an introverted, responsible, and successful technology worker who lives with his wife and child in New York City. Meanwhile, Benji (Culkin) is living an unemployed life in Binghamton, but she loves marijuana and can't control her honesty. .
It turns out there's more to these two than just sitcom tropes and frat house lore.
They hop on a tour group in Warsaw and visit important landmarks in Jewish history on their way to the childhood home of their grandmother, who was exiled in 1939.
Also clutching the camera are newly divorced Californian Marcia (Jennifer Grey), a curious Brooklyn couple (Daniel Oreskes and Riza Sadovi), and a Jewish woman fleeing genocide in her homeland. Eroge (Kurt Egiawan) is a Rwandan-Canadian convert.
“A word of warning,” says James, the British guide played by Will Sharp in “The White Lotus.” “This will be a tour about pain.” But, the scholar added, this will also be “a tour that celebrates the people, the most resilient.”
What's impressive throughout is the way Eisenberg balances respect for his locations with gut-wrenching comedy, and how those elements support each other.
When visiting the Warsaw Uprising Monument, which honors the Poles who stood up against the Nazis, wild and crazy Benji tells the buttoned-up group as if they too are rebels fighting alongside the sculpture. Make them pose hilariously (but beautifully?).
Eisenberg then depicts his solemn walk through the Majdanek concentration camp with the stoicism and frankness he deserves. His words are sparse, and when he returns to the bus, a piece of bread is shoved into his bleeding face, and Benji, shattered and crumpled, knocks the wind out of him.
A few minutes later, the funniest line in the movie comes. The pace is spot on.
Making a new European road trip movie comes with a certain amount of baggage, so to speak, but Eisenberg doesn't tread lightly on the path taken by many other filmmakers. There are many surprises, but his unique sentimentality is completely different from sentimentality as we understand it.
For example, in “A Real Pain,” tears flow when someone is slapped hard in the face.
Culkin gives viewers a fire alarm quality that endears him to his free-spirited personality, which includes musings about ear hair on “Succession” and award-show speeches. If you remove the Machiavellian motivation, this would seem like a no-brainer. please be him. Benji blurts out completely inappropriate comments that others would never get away with. But very un-Roman, his default mode is kindness. He always goes for hugs. The brotherly chemistry between Culkin and Eisenberg is also great and totally believable.
That he's so good here is both a relief and another sign that we live in the Kieransans era.
Eisenberg said at the end of the premiere that the purpose of the film was to explore pain on a smaller scale (dead grandparents, unstable lives) and on a grander scale (the Holocaust). He succeeded, and in doing so created a punchy blockbuster that was simultaneously intimate and nuanced.
In short, I'm really happy.
