Susan Granger’s review of “A Real Pain” (Searchlight)
Nominated for 3 Critics Choice Awards (Best Original Screenplay, Best Comedy, Best Supporting Actor) and 4 Golden Globes (Best Comedy, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay), Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” is on a roll.
The story follows two estranged Jewish cousins – cautious, pragmatic David (Jesse Eisenberg) and unpredictable, free-spirited Benji Kaplan (Kieran Culkin) – who reunite for a Holocaust tour through Poland to honor their late, beloved Grandma Dory whose childhood home they’re planning to visit.
Their travelling companions include wistful Los Angeles divorcee Marcia (Jennifer Grey), a stolidly boring older couple – Diana (Liza Sadovy) and Mark (Daniel Oreskes) from Shaker Heights – and soft-spoken, compassionate Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan) who fled the Rwandan genocide and later converted to Judaism.
The itinerary takes them to a number of picturesque stops in Warsaw and Lublin with a somber visit to the Majdanek concentration and extermination camp.
While their British tour guide James (Will Sharpe), an Oxford scholar, has an intellectual understanding of the statistics of history, outspoken Benji forces him into exploring a more visceral connection to these landmarks, much to uptight David’s embarrassment and exasperation.
David & Benji’s adventure takes an abrupt emotional turn when old resentments and tensions erupt against the backdrop of their shared Jewish family heritage.
Yet there’s relatable humor when they visit an immense sculpture dedicated to W.W. II’s Warsaw Uprising Movement and – urged by Benji – their various companions pose for photos, pretending they’re fighting the Nazis.
Written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”), the deftly perceptive comedic drama explores the various paths to dealing with pain, loss and suffering, accompanied by the complicated upheaval of self-discovery. And look for Kieran Culkin to snag a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination to accompany his Emmy for “Succession.”
Cinematographer Michal Dymek makes the most of the contemporary Polish locations, and the sound track incorporates Chopin nocturnes, preludes, etudes, ballads and waltzes, played by Israeli-Canadian pianist Tzvi Erez.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “A Real Pain” is an authentic, emotional 8, streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Fandango At Home on Dec. 31.
