Movies: A Real Pain

Jesse Eisenberg is best known for playing awkward billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Lex Luthor, but he proves to be a fairly capable director in his sophomore outing, A Real Pain:

The film is a quiet slice-of-life dramedy following two cousins trying to reconnect with their late grandmother's Jewish heritage during a Polish tour group. David (Eisenberg) is the staider and more successful of the two, while Benji (Kieran Culkin) is a free-spirited drifter with serious mental health issues. As this odd couple clashes and bonds with each other, secrets come to light and a legacy of grief is examined.

Trauma forms the core of A Real Pain, but it's rarely out in the open - even an emotional visit to the Majdanek concentration camp is limned in sunlight, the better to contrast with the atrocities that took place there. Small gestures, like evading a train fare or placing a stone on a grave, take on weighty significance, though the plot and supporting cast are too thin to carry much deeper meaning. The movie's trump card is an astonishing performance by Kieran Culkin, who infuses Benji with charm and pathos that should be recognized during awards season.

Rating: 7/10