Over the last decade of his career, Jesse Eisenberg has used the arts to assess where he fits within his family’s history. In 2013, Eisenberg starred in a Broadway play that he wrote called The Revisionist, in which he played a struggling writer who travels to Poland with the hope that it will provide the inspiration needed to finish his book. There, he connects with his 75-year-old cousin, who recounts the trauma she’s suffered as a Holocaust survivor. 

His sophomore film as a director, A Real Pain (2024), possesses a partially similar premise in which disparate Jewish American cousins David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) travel to Poland after the passing of their grandmother to explore the region where she grew up. Along their journey during a Holocaust tour, they gain a deeper understanding of the significance of their grandmother’s life and assess where they fit in the world as descendants of a Holocaust survivor.

As earnest as its plot sounds, A Real Pain quickly finds the perfect balance of comedy and heartfelt character drama. Most of the film’s humor comes from the situational comedy spurred by David and Benji’s odd couple pairing. David is a self-deprecating, uptight introvert, and Benji is an extrovert who can’t comprehend the concept of a mental filter. A hilarious circumstance that spotlights how their personalities complement each other comes when Benji decides to pose for a photo in front of a Warsaw Ghetto Uprising memorial. When he encourages all the other tour members to join him, David gets stuck juggling everyone’s mobile devices instead of joining in himself, ensuring he takes a picture with each phone. The scene emphasizes a core conflict between the cousins in that they can’t seem to find common ground like they used to.

David and Benji were very close when they were young but grew apart as they got older. David followed a road leading to a family and a job as someone responsible for selling advertisements that get obnoxiously plastered all over websites. Contrarily, Benji lingered on his path, content living in the past. With all that David has achieved, he wishes to light up a room with his personality like Benji does fearlessly.

Eisenberg and Culkin play these roles naturally. Their characters are fundamentally exaggerated versions of their real-life personas. Eisenberg especially infused so much of himself into David when he penned the screenplay because of how personal this story is to him. 

Like the two characters, Eisenberg’s ancestors are Holocaust survivors from Poland. Several of the areas shot are real-life locations where his family members grew up, including the house where they lived before being forced into a concentration camp, which is the same camp seen in the film. A Real Pain is Eisenberg at his most personal as an artist, and Culkin is there to support his journey with a stellar performance every step of the way, much like David supports Benji’s grieving process. Culkin deftly capitalizes on the comedy of his character while never compromising on Benji’s humanity.

The death of the cousins’ grandmother was much more devastating to Benji than it was to David. The film begins several months after her death, and Benji acts as if it’s barely been a day since she passed. Their close relationship made it difficult for him to process the loss. Adding to this is how Benji struggles to feel validated for feeling the pain of his grief at all.

During the tour, Benji repeatedly expresses that no one can understand the pain that their ancestors suffered during the Holocaust because of how privileged their lives are in the modern day. He feels that the ache he bears for the loss of his grandmother isn’t justified because it’s incomparable to the trauma suffered by people during the Holocaust or any other genocidal injustices throughout history.

The most exceptional confidence a director can display is stepping away and letting their art speak for itself. Eisenberg does this several times throughout A Real Pain, but none more effectively than during the scene where the tour group visits the concentration camp. He allows the viewer to process the universal pain in this moment with the characters and empathize with them. This moment provides an emotional catharsis for Benji, giving him the strength to continue, even if it’s only the same path he’s been on since before he left for the trip.

The real poignancy of the film is its honesty about the grieving process. It is reasonable to never move on after the loss of a loved one. Eisenberg understands that there isn’t a universal way to process the pain and that moving on is often impossible. It takes time to muster the courage to do so. Feeling unjustified in our emotional processes is easy and a part of the universal process. We can try to convince ourselves that what we are feeling isn’t real pain, but loss is the most devastating hurt there is. The most healthy thing we can do is embrace that pain, knowing it is justified. David and Benji’s adventure illustrates how courage doesn’t come from hiding how we feel but from having the strength to carry the memories of those we lost.

The profundity of its subject matter is the most impressive aspect of A Real Pain. It highlights Eisenberg’s improvement behind the camera, both as a writer and as a director. Although he firmly established his voice with his first film, When You Finish Saving the World (2022), he lacked conviction in his direction and story. Here, he demonstrates remarkable growth, knowing exactly what he wants to say and executing it in a spiritually impactful way.

Review Courtesy of Evan Miller

Feature Image Credit to Sundance Institute via Variety