{"id":161811,"date":"2024-12-26T21:15:31","date_gmt":"2024-12-26T11:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=161811"},"modified":"2024-12-26T21:16:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T11:16:11","slug":"a-real-pain-movie-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/a-real-pain-movie-review\/","title":{"rendered":"A Real Pain – movie review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jesse Eisenberg has used his Jewish family\u2019s roots to craft A Real Pain. The film follows cousins making a pilgrimage to their late grandmother\u2019s childhood home in Poland.<\/p>\n

Eisenberg plays David Kaplan, an anxious New Yorker, married father of one and digital ad salesman. His travelling companion on the week-long trip is Benji Kaplan (Kieran Culkin), a larger-than-life character, who lurches from personable to accusatory. Benji was particularly close to their grandmother, who only recently passed away. He acknowledges he has been in a funk since she died. Both men were left money in their grandmother\u2019s will to take a heritage tour with a small number of fellow Jews.<\/p>\n

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Their respectful British guide James (Will Sharpe) explains the sightseeing will incorporate the country\u2019s painful past, including a visit to a concentration camp. Although they clearly care for one another, David and Benji are like chalk and cheese. They have a love\/hate relationship. Benji can be charming and light up a room. He appears to revel in being the life of the party. But, at a moment\u2019s notice, he can turn on those he has just embraced. He wears his heart on his sleeve \u2013 one moment buoyant and the next melancholic. He suffers a major meltdown after they board a train and head straight to the first-class carriage that they have paid for. Given that Jews were transported to their deaths in overcrowded trains, Benji finds that totally inappropriate and he says so forcefully.<\/p>\n

On more than the odd occasion, David \u2013 who pops pills to calm himself \u2013 is embarrassed, even ashamed of his cousin\u2019s behaviour. Their adventure will be filled with a series of highs and lows, as Benji\u2019s odd temperament becomes a talking point.<\/p>\n

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Given the subject matter, I found A Real Pain surprisingly dull.\u00a0 Not enough happens to make it a compelling film.\u00a0 I thought it struggled to find any real traction, beyond the fact that it showcases a pair of mismatched cousins and few sights and sounds of Poland and its war-torn past. I was constantly looking at my watch, which is hardly a good sign.<\/p>\n

Kieran Culkin is clearly the star of the show with his embracing, manic representation of Benji. Eisenberg \u2013 who also wrote and directed the film \u2013 plays along respectfully as second fiddle, picking up the pieces where necessary. Around them are four other \u201ctravellers\u201d whose character development \u2013 especially an older couple \u2013 is somewhat patchy. The most interesting of those is African-born Jewish convert Elonge (Kurt Egyiawan), who embraces goodwill and his newfound religion. As the Oxford history scholar guide, Will Sharpe comes across as a decent guy trying to make the most of the travellers\u2019 Polish experience.<\/p>\n