A Real Pain: Chugging Along

How is this the product of a thousand miracles?

Jesse Eisenberg’s latest film is certainly not a real pain to sit through. Turning his attention away from consistent acting gigs, Eisenberg has transitioned to writing and directing, winning the Waldo Salt screenwriting award at this past Sundance Film Festival. Written, directed, and starring himself, Eisenberg has his hands full capturing the fraught relationship between two first cousins on a tour through Poland in honor of their recently deceased grandmother. Also starring Kieran Culkin and Jennifer Grey, Eisenberg crafts a rarity in Hollywood: a concise adult dramedy. Heaps of praise have been poured on Culkin’s eclectic performance along with the film’s whip-smart screenplay. So, is A Real Pain a major breakthrough for budding writer-director Jesse Eisenberg? Or just an above-average indie film?

A Real Pain follows polar-opposite first cousins Benji (Culkin) and Dave (Eisenberg) who embark on a guided tour throughout Poland at the request of their recently deceased grandmother who survived the holocaust. Dave is a software developer with a wife and kids in New York City, while Benji aimlessly drifts through life continuing to live off his parents. Dave is the uptight, neurotic one who silently deals with life, too afraid to take up space. While, Benji boisterously eats up the scenery, charming his way through life without consideration for others, unable to control the ups and downs of his emotions. The film isn’t heavy on the plot as the two go from one tourist destination to another, including an emotionally draining visit to a concentration camp and a climactic visit to the home their grandmother left behind. The other people on their tour include a non-Jewish British tour guide, an older New York Jewish couple, a reformed socialite, and a victim of the Rwandan genocide who recently converted to Judaism. The group collectively deals with their common familial history, experiences, and suffering while the cousins’ brimming tensions resurface balancing their first-world problems against their tragic family history. 

Eisenberg’s deft screenplay jumps off the page where you want to hold onto every word and scene. The juxtaposition of first-world problems with the gravest circumstances is an ingeniously comic way to explore the tragedies of our run-of-the-mill day-to-day existence. It’s an approach that brings perspective to what life throws at us while finding humor in our daily reality, instead of wallowing away in such serious themes. That’s not to say A Real Pain is tone-deaf in any way, it’s more so a testament in how the film manages to balance these tonal shifts intelligently. Eisenberg’s dialogue has both a matter-of-fact pace injecting a lot of “likes” and f-words” to have his characters sound like real people and a witty, fast-paced artificiality that keeps the momentum going. There’s enough space in the script to give performances time to breathe while characters ping-pong off each other. The script also finds moments to explore the way we collectively grieve and experience that doesn’t directly contribute to the plot but sticks with you.

This care and attention is carried over to the characters who Eisenberg brilliantly crafts into living, breathing people instead of easy caricatures. In particular, Benji played by Kieran Culkin will go down as one of the most compelling screen characters in recent times. He’s a whirlwind of contradictions—animated and spirited with a child-like wonder one moment, then sensitive and blunt the next. He’s deeply feeling yet unapologetically direct, sociable yet unpredictable, a character so layered and dynamic that he defies any attempt to box him in. In the hands of a lesser screenwriter, Benji could easily have been reduced to a one-dimensional character. Yet, despite the cringe-worthy moments and the times we outright dislike him, the film manages to uncover something both admirable and endearing about him. Benji would be entirely incomplete without Kieran Culkin's tour-de-force performance, which eats up every frame. He doesn’t just inhabit the character; he becomes it, breathing life into Benji in a way that makes him feel vulnerable and unforgettable. However, the mistake many are making is giving sole credit to Culkin’s performance and not to the duo themselves. This film would be completely adrift if it weren’t for Eisenberg’s equally compelling, albeit less dominant performance. This is ironic since the same dynamic exists amongst the characters in the film’s world. A common complaint against Jesse Eisenberg as an actor is he largely plays the same character: the neurotic, fast-talking know-it-all. But, there’s something different about what he does in this film. He’s able to present the emotional toll of the kind of people Benji inflicts on people around them, those who can’t resist being the complete center of attention burdening everybody else with their problems. The kind of person you’re always waiting on. The emotional depth and pain in Eisenenberg’s performance is so understated, seamlessly transitioning the character from mere schtick to a fully realized, living, breathing person. What’s really fascinating about their dynamic, though, is the way the films explore the particular mix of love, admiration, and envy that people can feel for one another when they’re united by one thing despite leading completely different lives.

The greatness of A Real Pain doesn’t just come from the tremendous script and performances but also the brilliance behind the camera. The complexity of the characters and their dynamics with each other wouldn’t be complete without the film’s minimalist, yet effective style. For instance, Eisenberg shoots Benji as both an intruder, clamming his way into people’s lives, and a distant, almost mythical figure nobody can quite break, taking advantage of negative space and long lenses. The film never relies on gimmicks to get its point across instead moving the camera when you need to and cuts when you have to. In a world where every film feels 20 minutes too long, it’s refreshing to see a well-paced 90-minute film without a wasted second. Cinematographer Michal Dymek elevates an otherwise dull visual premise with vibrant, eye-catching frames and stunning outdoor photography uncovering the rich scenery and colors of the locations. The 2nd Unit photography unit deserves much praise for setting up some great exterior compositions in each of the locations the tour visits. It’s an underrated element of the film that immerses the audience deeper into the trip these characters are taking, while also allowing brief moments for Eisenberg to transition between scenes seamlessly. Having collaborated with great writers and directors like Sorkin, Baumbach, Fincher, Reichardt, and Allen, Eisenberg has keenly mastered the small details that make a great film. He favors a minimalist style that prioritizes performances and staying in the moment, unafraid to be both visually engaged and raw. The litmus test for great directing is mastering the conversation which Eisenberg expertly does. Of course, it all starts with a great script, but Eisenberg also knows exactly how to capture the right coverage, cutting conversations to match the rhythm and emotional impact without relying on the script to take care of business. This brings life to scenes that a lesser director would fail at. Further testament to his deft direction is actually in a scene without any dialogue when the group visits a concentration camp. Eisenberg grants to the viewers a certain level of sensitivity and feeling that makes the audience present in that space where so much devastation once took place. The imagery and details are startling, enhanced by a sound design that’s quiet at the right moments. It’s as if you’re on the tour yourself, experiencing each character’s inner feelings at that moment as they reflect on their collective history understanding at times that images really can say a thousand words. 

A Real Pain is a sort of ode to the people who carry on in life and don’t burden others with their problems, finding a way to deal with the meaninglessness and banality of life. The type that takes their wins wherever they can. Yet, there’s so much more one can derive from the film. It’s not merely commenting on something vague or only relevant to now. Instead, there’s a real sense of timelessness Eisenberg lends to it focusing on the facets of the human condition that will continue to endure. Hopefully, the film will endure and find an audience that gives it the time it deserves. This isn’t your typical actor-turned-director movie with a real cinematic voice that I hope gets more opportunities in the future. A Real Pain is first-rate in every way you can imagine, please seek out one of the year’s outright gems. [4/4]