A Real Pain

I just finished this film and I have to say I'm surprised reading some of the bad reviews about it, I know film perception is subjective but I don't understand how someone could dislike this film. It was so interesting to me, and the thing is, nothing big really happens, you just follow these two cousins along their trip, it's normal, it's almost casual. There are not going to explain everything to you because there's no need for it. We have access to the superficial, to the bare minimum because that how the characters relate to each other, there so much they don't understand and so much that they don't say. The performances are all incredibly, especially Culkin. I was left crying by the end. Maybe you need to have dealt with depression to connect with it more. Maybe you need to have seen someone you love survive (or not) this painful illness. But I'm happy for this type of movies to exist. This stories also need to be told. As rare and unfitted for some people may seem.

I really enjoyed the movie for several reasons.

1. It moved right along and was short but satisfying for 1:30 hours run time.

2. Great screen play, direction and acting from Jessi Eisenberg. His role David was conflicted about his feelings for his troubled cousin Benji, and that felt very real and relatable.

3. Kieran Calkin plays Benji, a loud, emotional guy who isn't afraid of voicing his opinions and can be a burden to other people but wins them over because of his charm and heart. His acting was superb and very believable (we all know a guy like that in our lives).

4. It is a road movie and shows various sites of Poland and its dark history in a most unpretentious and natural way.

5. Supporting actors including Will Sharpe and Jennifer Gray were also amazing and the ensemble cast had very good chemistry.

I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good original human drama that is not over-dramatic and over-wrought which this movie wasn't.

Two polar-opposite cousins, introverted, responsible, neurotic David and extroverted, seemingly-carefree Benji, fly to Poland as part of a Jewish history tour to visit significant cultural and historic sites, including a WW2 concentration camp. Their beloved, recently-deceased grandmother survived the Holocaust and they want to see where she lived. During the course of the tour their contrasting personalities start to cause friction between the two and past issues are rekindled.

Okay but underwhelming. A film that seems more about the journey than the destination, which is not in itself a bad thing - some great dramas have not had a powerful or profound conclusion but were fantastic in getting there. Unfortunately, here the journey is not entirely enjoyable nor engaging.

The film just seems to meander around for most of its duration. There's a few good moments and there's enough going on to maintain your interest but it never becomes riveting viewing.

Add in the fact that neither cousin is that interesting and Benji (played by Kieran Culkin) is downright annoying and the engagement levels are quite low too.

As mentioned, there are some good moments and passages of play though and the historic and cultural aspects of the tour are quite interesting and edifying. Not a must-see but interesting enough to be watchable.

"Grandma Dory" has passed away and left her two grandsons some money so that they can take a trip to Poland and see where she grew up amidst the Nazi invasion and subsequent holocaust. These two are cousins. "David" (Jesse Eisenberg) is a bit of a shy, geeky, type who lives in New York with his wife and child. "Banji" (Kieran Culkin) is quite the opposite. A free spirited, thinking and speaking individual who cares little for what anyone else thinks about him. The pair clearly love each other, but the behaviour of the latter continues to rattle his travelling companion, especially when they meet up with the other members of their touring party in Warsaw. What now ensues is quite a testament to both Eisenberg's vision as a writer/director but also to the inspired casting of Culkin. He is the kind of holiday companion I'd cheerfully have killed with a rusty harpoon. Loud, brash, opinionated and sometimes borderline cruel as he imposes himself on the group swearing as he goes. Gradually, though, we discover that both men have shields up; both are dealing with some fairly deep psychological issues in their own way and even ought these may clash, there is still far more fundamentally connecting them that not. There are ample opportunities to see the sights of Warsaw, and there is an haunting few minutes at the Majdanek camp where shoes, thousands and thousands of shoes, make you shiver. It's potent and it's often funny, darkly so, and in many ways it slots nicely into the recent panoply of dramas about the fascination by younger generations in the horror of war that those who endured actually want to get past and forget. It also shines a light on the whole business of tourism around these monuments, and does make it quite clear that sometimes these trips can become a statistical box-ticking exercise, especially for Americans, who want to say they've "done" that. An architectural monument equivalent of a safari "big five". In the end I found "Benji" to be a vulnerable but fundamentally selfish and unlikeable character - but I bet there are many reading this who profoundly disagree. That's proof that these two did their job well and I'd recommend you go see it in a cinema for a couple of powerful and characterful performances.

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Previously, Jesse Eisenberg made "When You Finish Saving the World" which was interesting but unfortunately a bit annoying. Here, Eisenberg's direction and writing for this movie shows he has massively improved as many of the characters are interesting and engaging, good dialogue conversations, and great performances, especially from Kieran Culkin who steals the show in the entire movie.

The narrative explores family history and complicated bondings as each of the themes and explorations on the subjects were handled well and it was funny, emotional, and compelling to observe. Including beautiful camerawork, good soundtrack, and conversations that felt real, genuine, and engaging to observe.

Eisenberg's approach on the chemistry, structure and pacing was good as he has created a really good compelling and personal story about family history and the true meanings of bondings and relationships. There were some soundtrack choices that felt a little out of place. But overall, Eisenberg improved himself and I look forward to see what else he could bring to the today.