Two distant cousins embark on a trip to Poland to see where their recently passed grandmother grew up. On the surface, A Real Pain appears to be just another average and mundane road trip movie. This couldn’t be further from the truth; the film is a nuanced, emotional journey that could redefine the “dramedy”’ genre.
One of the most appealing aspects of A Real Pain is the outstanding acting. While Kieran Culkin is excellent in the film and has received heavy praise for his role as Benji, even winning an Oscar this year for Best Supporting Actor, Jesse Eisenberg (who also wrote and directed the film) steals the show in my opinion for his role as David. Eisenberg gives a subtle yet powerful performance where his character is reserved, shy, and insecure, which perfectly contrasts Culkin’s character who is outgoing, confident, and carefree.
Although David and Benji’s personalities are opposites of each other, their relationship throughout the film is a delight to watch. It’s clear that they are both dealing with internal pain from their own lives and ancestral pain from visiting the depressing Holocaust memorials and a concentration camp in the country where their grandmother was forced to flee from, but they each deal with their pain in vastly different ways: the overarching theme of the film. David holds in his pain, feeling like he shouldn’t burden the people around him with what he’s dealing with, causing him to feel isolated and down inside. Benji, on the other hand, is almost incapable of holding in pain and makes bold comments when he’s dealing with pain. This contrast highlights that many people, no matter what their method is, have a hard time dealing with pain and struggles.
Besides the acting, Esinberg’s original script masterfully balances genres, shifting effortlessly from a hilarious comedy to an emotional drama. Being only 90 minutes, the script is tight and concise, yet tackles a variety of powerful themes and provokes a wide range of emotions. The entire film is basically the two characters talking, but the dialogue flows naturally and is filled with twists and turns, making the film widely engaging and never boring.
What stands out about the script though is that A Real Pain feels real. Many times when watching a movie, the entire story feels like it takes place in another universe and the characters feel distant and hard to connect with. This movie though feels like you’re almost spying on two actual cousins on this trip. The accuracy of characterization, dialogue that feels like a real conversation people would have, and the familiar challenges the characters face make it effortless to imagine yourself in these characters’ shoes and understand everything they’re dealing with.
One common critique of the movie is that the script feels too on the nose about displaying its themes in the dialogue. While at some points this is true, and it’s pretty easy to figure out what’s happening, because the dialogue is always so natural, this doesn’t feel like a problem. The script may have been less powerful and intrinsic if it had been more vague in the characters’ conversations.
A Real Pain’s simplicity also greatly stands out. It feels like with many films, especially newer ones, filmmakers feel the need to put in some type of gimmick to hook audiences in and make their films stand out above the rest. This is not the case with A Real Pain. There are no gimmicks or wild plot devices or twists, just raw emotion, and honest storytelling that makes it an extremely refreshing and powerful watch.
The film also greatly tackles the importance and uniqueness of Jewish identity and does an exceptional job at representing the distinct values, traditions, and beliefs of Judaism, something usually not properly addressed or represented in mainstream films. As mentioned before, the film also goes into great depth about the Holocaust. But, instead of focusing solely on the past like in many Holocaust movies, it reflects the great extent to which people are still dealing with the pain of ancestors who both survived and were murdered during the Holocaust.
Overall, A Real Pain’s simplicity, excellent script, powerful messages about generational and individual pain, and superb depiction of Judaism make it, in my opinion, the best film of 2024 and one of the best “boring” films of all time.
10/10
