A Real Pain

Director: Jesse Eisenberg
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovoy, Daniel Oreskes, Ellora Torchia
Running Time: 90 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)     

Writer/director Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain is an exasperating but insightful 90 minutes that replicates the unpleasantness of traveling with someone who pushes your patience to the breaking point. Those who've found it impossible to get on the same page as a relative should undoubtedly empathize with its anxious protagonist, who both loves and resents a cousin whose unpredictable behavior unnerves everyone he encounters. It's the most time they've spent together in years, but the depressing circumstances surrounding their reunion make family bonding an impossibility.

While the anguish both characters experience pales in comparison to the historically unimaginable suffering they'll hear about on this trip, one of them struggles in ways familiar to anyone who feels like crawling under the table when his type of personality enters a room. With no guide on how to handle him or meaningful methods for managing the fallout, a small handful of supporting players strap in and endure a deluge of uncomfortable, cringeworthy outbursts. Neither character winds up in a significantly better place by journey's end, but tiny breakthroughs occur, bolstered by a pleasantly mismatched screen pairing and Kieran Culkin's outstanding performance.    

David Kaplan (Eisenberg) and his cousin Benji (Culkin) are preparing to embark on a trip from New York City to Poland to visit the childhood home of their late Jewish grandmother and further explore their heritage. The nervous and introverted David already misses his wife and young son, but has a detailed itinerary prepared before meeting rambunctious, free-spirited Benji at the airport. They clash almost immediately, with Benji's irritating, oversized personality disorienting an already uptight David. 

Once arriving in Poland, the pair join a Holocaust tour group led by mild mannered British guide James (Will Sharpe) and comprising of recent divorcée Marcia (Jennifer Grey), retired couple Mark (Daniel Oreskes) and Diane (Liza Sadovoy) and Rwandan genocide survivor Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan). But as Benji's obnoxious antics grow inappropriate enough to affect the rest of the group, David's forced to confront his complicated feelings toward him head on.

At first, David tries to be tolerant and accommodating of Benji's various quirks since they're taking this pilgrimage to honor a beloved ancestor, sharing memories from when they were younger and closer. But it doesn't take long to realize they've since drifted apart, with hints dropped that Benji's battling some serious inner demons. And yet, Culkin still manages to create this alternately compelling portrait of a fun, charismatic guy who lights up every room he enters, at least until his worst instincts take over. 

Whether the hyper sensitive Benji is roping the group into posing for an awkward photo, criticizing the tour guide, or in one memorable sequence, flipping out with guilt over the privileges they're enjoying on this trip, there's no denying he'll occasionally bring up valid points. It's how and when he expresses those that's the problem, as David walks on eggshells dreading what will set his cousin off next.

The film's best scene comes when David finally snaps, unloading his true thoughts about Benji and his own insecurities to the group, cementing suspicions about their shared history in the process. At its core, the film is entirely about Benji's fragile mental health, even while Eisenberg delicately juxtaposes that with comedic elements and the anticipatory dread of touring a Nazi concentration camp.

You could imagine an alternate version of A Real Pain that more closely resembles a slapstick farce, with straight man David struggling to maintain sanity and composure in the face of his annoying cousin's outrageous antics. But Eisenberg knows how and when to dial it back, investing his script with a thoughtful restraint that recalls another road trip movie in which he starred, 2015's greatly underappreciated The End of the Tour. This lacks that same spark, but even in sharing similarities with other indie comedies about quirky characters searching for enlightenment, Eisenberg navigates a simple, introspective premise with humor and dignity.