A Real Pain

 Unlike some other films on this year’s Oscar docket, A Real Pain doesn’t waste a lot of time. It’s only ninety-minutes long, which is about as long as Wicked’s first act on stage. Let’s see what Jesse Eisenberg, in his second film as writer and director, does with his time.

Benji (Kieran Culkin) and David Kaplan (Eisenberg) are cousins on a guided tour of Poland. Their beloved Grandma Dory, a Holocaust survivor, recently died, so the two take the trip to see her homeland. They used to be pretty close, but their personalities got in the way. Benji, the outgoing one, makes friends with the tour group, while criticizing their tour guide James (Will Sharpe). David, the quiet one, envies Benji’s outgoingness while struggling with his manic behavior. They'll eventually reconcile.

Also on the tour group are Marcia (Jennifer Grey), a divorcee, and Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide, and elderly couple Mark & Diane (Daniel Oreskes & Liza Sadovy). They’re all quite interesting as we learn about their reasons for joining the tour. It's pretty endearing, even if initially awkward, as Benji bonds with Marcia and Eloge. He is less than thrilled with James's detached tour guide style, which finally boils over when they visit a cemetery. His outburst is ultimately constructive criticism for James' and the film's benefit. It's quite fascinating to watch him introduce the Jewish custom of leaving stones on gravestones, which pops up again in the end.

It doesn’t have time for flashbacks, which leaves David and Benji to convey their pasts with acting alone. David, in particular, recounts Benji’s recent suicide attempt during dinner, and he comes very close to breaking down. Benji, meanwhile, recounts how a dinnertime argument with Dory - who doesn’t even appear as a picture - set him straight. The acting by Eisenberg and Culkin sells us on their shared history, especially in those scenes alone. You will feel their pain even if you can’t see all of it. You’ll also feel pretty good when they ultimately reconcile

David spends the opening incessantly calling Benji, leaving voice mail after voice mail praying that he won't miss the flight. He's unaware - like we are - that Benji is not only at the airport but is quite content there. Both of them, as we find out, are no more or less composed than the other. Benji's aforementioned suicide attempt does nothing to calm David's pre-existing anxiety. It's naturally quite tense when Benji disappears one night, only to pop up chipper the next morning. The worse that happens to either of them is missing their train stop at one point. A bag of weed helps them reconcile in the climax; it's not as silly as it sounds.

What do we have for technicals? There's a good selection of Chopin music on the soundtrack. The editing by Robert Nassau is quite nice, especially during the opening. The best technical work belongs to cinematographer Michal Dymek, who gives us a great travelogue of Poland. His best work comes when the tour group visits the Majdanek Concentration Camp, where we see lingering evidence of the Holocaust. James's commentary of the camp is quite ironic if you have The Zone of Interest in recent memory. I'll leave it to you to hear it for yourself.

A Real Pain may have an easy runtime, but it’s not that easy a movie. You should still take this cinematic trip to see the chemistry between its two leads. It's a welcome addition to this year's Oscar lineup, especially for Culkin's performance. But get on board now if you want to see it in theatres now. It's about to get really crowded this holiday season. It just so happens that my next review is for one of those big movies. It's coming soon, and hopefully, tonight.