Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
A Real Pain is carried almost entirely by its performances, with Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin delivering deeply felt, nuanced work that elevates the modest material. Culkin in particular is a genuine standout, earning his Oscar win. The plot is intimate and understated — a Holocaust heritage tour framing a study in grief and contrasting personalities — which works emotionally but doesn't offer much structural surprise. Cinematography is competent and naturalistic, using Polish locations effectively without being especially distinguished. Novelty is modest: the premise of Jewish-American cousins reckoning with inherited trauma on a tour of Poland has a specific, personal texture that sets it apart from generic dramedy, but it doesn't reinvent the form. The ending is quiet and bittersweet in keeping with the film's tone, though it resolves less than it gestures at, leaving some viewers wanting more closure.