Jesse Eisenberg's directorial debut offers a captivating take on grief and inherited trauma
Jewish generational trauma is not a subject that lends itself easily to cinema. It’s complex, ambiguous, unresolved and simultaneously relevant and irrelevant to modern Jewish life. It is, in a word, painful. Painful to think about, to talk about, to confront and to ignore. Into this mess of emotions steps A Real Pain, the directorial debut from acclaimed American Jewish actor Jesse Eisenberg, who also wrote, produced and stars in the film.
David Kaplan (Eisenberg, as usual playing a version of himself) is a New York Jew who travels to Poland for a Jewish heritage tour with his cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin, heavily tipped to win awards for his performance). Their grandmother Dory, recently deceased, was a Holocaust survivor born in the country. The trip also serves to rekindle the cousins' own relationship. They were like brothers growing up, but have drifted apart in adulthood. David is married with a young son, living in New York City and working in digital marketing. Benji is an unemployed stoner, living in his parents’ basement upstate. David is serious, buttoned-down and socially awkward, while Benji is gregarious and confident, moving through the world at his own pace.
The intermingling of personal grief and sadness with a broader tale of Jewish trauma is the beating heart of A Real Pain. As the trip travels through Poland, we learn more about the odd-couple cousins. Benji was very close to his grandmother and hasn’t recovered since her death. David, who used to idolise Benji when they were younger (and still does to some extent) struggles to relate to him now.
Culkin’s performance is an incredibly realistic depiction of uncontained grief. Initially, Benji still presents as the same charismatic charmer David remembers from their childhood – the kind of person you can’t ignore, even if sometimes you might want to – but laying below the surface is an intense vulnerability and heartache, expressing itself in socially uncomfortable outbursts. David’s grief is subtler. He’s mourning for his grandmother too, but also for the Benji he remembers, now seemingly lost forever.
Occasionally A Real Pain feels more like documentary than drama. In one powerful sequence, the tour guide James (brilliant British-Japanese actor, writer and director Will Sharpe) narrates the erased Jewish history of Lublin over images of unremarkable buildings and patches of waste ground. The group’s visit to Majdanek concentration camp is similarly shot with unflinching verité.
However, the film is not without its flaws. An incessant classical piano score intrudes into virtually every scene, becoming almost headache-inducing by the end, and any attempt to flesh out the other characters fizzles in favour of focusing on David and Benji’s relationship. But that doesn't detract from the excellence of A Real Pain. What’s most impressive, is its refusal to offer any simple, uplifting answers. It suggests that trauma is cyclical, unresolvable and ultimately endless. Perhaps not the most upbeat message for a film, but it's an undeniably touching and thought-provoking watch nevertheless.
By Barney Pell Scholes
A Real Pain is out in US cinemas from 15 November, Australia from 25 December and the UK from 10 January 2025. searchlightpictures.com/a-real-pain