A Real Pain

Grade: A

Any box you might try to put A Real Pain into would be a simplification, not representative of the full scope. As it involves two men traveling together (one is strait-laced, serious, and reserved – the other is exuberant and beaming with energy), I inevitably thought of Planes, Trains & Automobiles, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. A Real Pain is more about characters and situations than plot. I could tell you what it’s about in a couple of sentences. What it offers is more meaningful than any standard potboiler “we go from point A to point B” screenplay could ever give us. I can’t wait to see it again. I had that thought before the end of the first viewing.

Jesse Eisenberg is the writer, director, and star, but he didn’t give himself the best part. Kieran Culkin, who plays opposite Eisenberg, gives us the most vibrant, full of life, insanely likable, memorable character I’ve seen in a film in a long time, if not ever. It’s the kind of fictional character that I pray to God is real and out there somewhere, in some form. Culkin is a revelation here, in probably my favorite performance of the year.

Eisenberg and Culkin play cousins David and Benji. David lives in New York City with his wife and young child. He sells the ads you see on the internet (“Oh, I hate those things,” Benji bluntly blurts out). Benji is a bit of a wandering free spirit, living in the suburbs of New York, with a future as fuzzy as his face. Their grandmother has recently passed away. She was a Holocaust survivor, and left David and Benji some money so they can travel to Poland and see where she grew up, and made less pleasant memories.

The piece about two Americans touring Poland to visit an old family member’s past, and the Judaism theme, made me think – respectively – of Treasure and Between the Temples, both out earlier this year. But again, the comparisons can only go so far. A Real Pain is its own beast. Benji, especially, really loved their grandmother, and has been reeling from the loss. This trip has difficult moments for him, but along the way, Benji does what he does, being funny and wise and generally lighting up the room and enriching the lives of everyone who crosses his path.

Eisenberg isn’t reduced to your typical straight man in a buddy comedy, nor is Culkin just comic relief. We see David’s frustration and jealousy emerge. He has a career and a family in a nice city, but would give everything to have the spark and people-pleasing skills that the less successful, troubled Benji possesses in spades. How do you acquire what he has? A Real Pain is a real slice of life, with an engaging exploration into the human experience.

I suppose there’s no way to adequately describe why this movie affected me like it did. I laughed and cried, sometimes in the same scene, and sometimes simultaneously. Culkin pulls off masterful moments that you can’t learn from years with an acting teacher. You just have to see what the camera catches, and let this cinematic miracle wash over you. How Eisenberg can have his creative hand on something like Sasquatch Sunset, and then turn around and do A Real Pain is one of the enigmas of Hollywood. This is rated R for language, but it’s perfect for any thoughtful 10 and up person who is accompanied by an adult, and doesn’t mind a few salty words. I hope Benji will be okay. I hope more people get to experience him. I hope I have a Benji in my life. Maybe I have been one for somebody. Maybe you have.

Grade: A