Jesse Eisenberg has nothing to prove; he has already staked his claim as an actor, writer, and director. But A Real Pain digs deeper than he ever has before; even the film’s title has multiple meanings. The movie simmers and occasionally boils over. The end result is a satisfying brew (to stretch a metaphor).
As a writer he and Kieran Culkin share the emotional burden of the story. Culkin’s is the showier performance but Eisenberg’s quieter demeanor reveals just as much about him as Culkin does, in a different way. They both excel in bringing these recognizable characters to life.
The actors portray cousins who have been close all of their lives, through many ups and downs. Eisenberg has followed a conventional path and has a job, a wife and child and a townhouse in the City. Culkin is a floater who has yet to “find” himself. There is still much that remains unsaid between them, and some of it trickles out as they join a small tour group exploring Warsaw, Poland, their grandmother’s birthplace and their family’s ancestral home.
Although they have clung to each other through good times and bad, over the course of this trip they find themselves alternately setting off sparks and begging forgiveness, which is apparently nothing new. Working out their relationship in the midst of strangers—fellow tourists—makes it twice as awkward as it would be on their home turf in New York.
All of this is set to piano renditions of compositions by Poland’s most famous composer, Frédéric Chopin.
It’s axiomatic that a small-scale film costs less to make and therefore doesn’t need to be wildly popular to be deemed a success. I suspect Eisenberg has his own markers for success and if so, I hope he is patting himself on the back. A Real Pain is a very good movie.
