A Real Pain (2024)

Mismatched cousins reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother, but their old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

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Main Cast

Jesse Eisenberg

Kieran Culkin

Jennifer Grey

Kurt Egyiawan

Main Crew

Written and Directed by Jesse Eisenberg

Cinematography by Michał Dymek

When news of this film started coming out, there wasn't an inch of my being that cared. But as more info came out, that feeling changed quickly. After loving/hating Kieran Culkin in Succession, he became must-see.

 

Jesse Eisenberg, on the other hand, can be hit or miss. But, with his writing and direction, it feels like the films themselves become him. 

It's refreshing to see a modern filmmaker not waste a second of screen time, and tell a complete story, while not talking down to their audience. So many creators today handle their audiences with kid gloves and feel like they don't have the intelligence to decipher their art. So, to have someone simply give us their unadulterated vision is glorious. 

And when the writing is this competent, we the viewers truly get to know the main characters and feel something for them... even when the runtime is under two hours!

Eisenberg surrounds the main cast with a wonderful array of supporting cast members with backstories that we get in an exposition dump that didn't play like one. 

I am loving seeing more of Kurt Egyiawan, who is diabolical in 'The Agent' but beyond endearing in this. This guy is versatile as hell!! Here's to hoping he gets more work and time to shine. 

A Real Pain is a wonderful film about introverts/extroverts, dealing with pain, family, and mortality, and how to live life on your terms, but never close a door. You never know when you'll need to open it.