A REAL PAIN (A) - Jesse Eisenberg writes, directs and stars in a gem of a movie about 30-something cousins retracing their family roots to Poland and joining a Holocaust tour. We could not find a misstep in this heartfelt rendering of the lingering pangs of personal suffering.
Eisenberg brings in Kieran Culkin as Benji, one of those annoying but lovable fuckups who manages to be the life of the party. He contrasts with Eisenberg's David, who has tamed his childhood anxieties through extreme adulting -- holding down a responsible job (selling internet ads) and building a home with a loving wife and child. That exposition gradually spills out as David and Benji reunite for their excursion to Poland.
Benji is coming off "a tough few months" and is in a funk after the death of their grandmother, with whom he was close. Benji, as a coping mechanism (besides daily pot smoking), defaults to dragging the conversation between the two men toward their childhood, when David was a ball of neuroses and Benji was the well-adjusted one (and apparently Grandma's favorite). It's a way to keep David off-kilter and level the playing field.
But let's not ignore the fact that the two men are frequently funny together. Eisenberg does his Millennial Woody Allen thing (which he has made his own), and Culkin bursts with manic energy. Occasionally he seems to be stealing Zach Galifianakis' shtick, but there's no denying that he commandeers this roller-coaster of joy and heartbreak and owns the movie.
It is always difficult to avoid the third rail of comedy and dodge "The Day the Clown Cried" territory when weaving the Holocaust into a comedy. Eisenberg assembles a small group of fellow tourists (including Jennifer Grey), who each have their own personal journeys to share, including a man (Kurt Edyiawan) who survived the Rwandan massacres when he was young and ended up in western Canada. Will Sharpe (HBO's "The White Lotus") does a fine turn as the sweet tour guide, James, who takes earnestness to Olympic levels.
Benji's antics will continually alternate between amusing and exasperating, culminating in a group dinner in which both men will have the chance to open up about the other to the fellow tourists. The visit to the concentration camp is understated, and it is perfectly punctuated with just a few seconds of absolute silence on the screen.
A final pilgrimage to the cousins' grandmother's family home is perfectly anti-climactic. And the final shot of Benji captures his entire personality in one image. From start to finish, Eisenberg crafts a minor-key masterpiece.
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