Last Updated on October 15, 2024 by
A Real Pain is a 2024 Comedy Drama Movie directed and written by Jesse Eisenberg. The film stars Kieran Culkin, Jesse Eisenberg, and Olha Bosova, with a runtime of 1 hour 30 min, and will be released on November 1, 2024.
The plot of “A Real Pain” depicts the story of two cousins, David and Benji, portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin, who decide to visit Poland and uncover their Jewish roots. It is crucial to stress here that the two are as close as brothers, but they are not all alike at the same time. David is a success in his career, reliable though he lacks warmth in his personality. Benji on the other hand is unruly, energetic, and out of control most of the time but deep down, he is a good boy. The conflict of their personality types thus becomes the premise of the story.
The plot of the Show begins when the cousins lose their grandmother and they take it as an opportunity to go back to Poland and explore their heritage. They sign up for a Holocaust tour, which is aimed at giving them knowledge of the fate of the Jews during the Second World War. While walking around Warsaw and other places, they learn about the fates of their ancestors who perished in concentration camps. They both get the kick brought out by such an experience, but it is more so with Benji who begins to feel deep feelings for her.
Benji exhibits a heightened emotional reaction as the concert moves on. He feels guilty about living an easy life while their forefathers suffered a lot with no shows of improvements. He becomes rebellious and wants to change his seat to a lower class, and he makes sarcastic jokes during the train tour. He is angry at the past of his people and at the present when people just live the life they want without knowing how others struggle. His actions, however, seem quite contrived at times; it feels like he’s overcompensating about his guilt, but at the same time, he does sneaky things like sneaking into the first class on the train or wearing pajamas in the daylight, as if he’s not willing to be serious.
On the other hand, David is insulted by Benji’s actions towards him. He sympathizes with Benji for being as uninhibited and expressive as he wants to be, but he is like a prisoner of his well-ordered, passionless existence. There is a scene where it is shown that Benji, the elder brother, attempted suicide, which fuels the anger of David even further. He feels Benji does not understand that he has a good life while David envies that Benji does not need to be guarded all the time.
During the tour, their interactions become more tense because of the growing tension between them. At times they are friendly and share good times like taking a bong and cracking jokes over petty matters but they can also quarrel and even use harsh words with each other. It is revealed that both cousins want something that the other possesses; Benji envies David for his steadiness and, in turn, David wants to be like Benji and be free-spirited.
Despite the serious conflict, the movie is comedic, as Eisenberg incorporates humor into the script in equal proportion to the drama. One of the highlights of the movie is the interaction of the two main characters that are depicted by Eisenberg and Culkin. Culkin is the more rambunctious cousin compared to Eisenberg whose bottled-up anger is portrayed through monotonous subtlety. It makes their dialogues quite realistic, like the ongoing ‘love-hate’ relationship that one can witness in many sibling or best friend pairs.
By not shying away from humor A Real Pain addresses such issues as the effects of trauma, loss, and even the events of the Holocaust but does not turn into a tragedy all the time. All in all, while Benji’s ridiculous actions are outlandishly comical they provide a humorous slant. Unlike many movies, Eisenberg does not attempt to show off his directing skills, which is appropriate, given the more intimate, character-focused narrative. But this is also a drawback as the movie sometimes resembles other indie movies telling about family issues in a rather slow-paced manner.
Thus, the viewers do not receive the key to easily solve pending problems at the end of the movie. Benji and David don’t ‘grow up’ and become friends again by the end of the movie, and there’s no denying that the world they now inhabit is a better one than that of the woods they used to roam in. However, it closes on a somewhat pessimistic note citing that sometimes all one can do is to dismember the ways of how one is to live with history and its pain instead of trying to solve it.
All in all, A Real Pain is a well-thought piece, funny at times, and touching at other times because it deals with family issues, history, and individuality. It’s a type of movie that makes one consider that history always has an impact on a person even if they are not in a position to realize this.
A Real Pain2024 Parents Guide Age Rating
A Real Pain is rated R by the Motion Picture Rating (MPA) For language throughout and some drug use.
A Real Pain PLOT FULL SUMMARY and parents’ guide will be updated closer to the release date (November 1, 2024.), so check back.
