A Real Pain
A Real Pain
"A Real Pain" follows mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother, but their adventure takes a dark turn when the odd couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 2, 2025
I was not a huge fan of Jesse Eisenberg’s directorial debut feature When You Finish Saving the World. It was competently made BUT I found nearly all of the characters to be almost completely insufferable. Interestingly enough, his sophomore effort also features characters that can be insufferable at times, but they also have enough redeeming qualities to make following them around on a holocaust tour in Poland a compelling watch. Certainly there’s credit to be placed on Eisenberg’s writing. It’s funny and witty in ways they feel incredibly specific to these two characters who are cousins with an entire shared history behind them. But Kieran Culkin is absolutely incredible in this. I don’t know how but he manages to portray the kind of person that is incredibly funny, magnetic and (quote) “really f🤩king cool,” while simultaneously leaving you feeling like they would be an absolute intolerable nightmare to have as a friend. Culkin and Eisenberg have excellent chemistry and their push and pull with each other is incredibly fun to watch. Probably giving extra points for Culkin’s performance alone which is so good, but this is worth checking out.