I genuinely miss the mid-range and small budget dramas and comedies like ‘Sideways’ or ‘The Holdovers.’ These are personal, intimate stories that’s completely character-driven and while the story feels contained, the writing and the performances expand the scope that makes it feel universal and authentic. This is where the Jesse Eisenberg written and directed film ‘A Real Pain’ falls under and it does so quite well. 

On the surface, it’s about two Jewish cousins, polar opposites of each other, who travel to Poland to reconnect with their recently passed grandmother and with their heritage. They join a tourist group for a holocaust tour and in the process the cousins collide as their personalities clash and their histories are dug up and strung out for everyone to see. It’s funny but also painful and embarrassing at times but it’s also honest. But deep down, the film really is a study on mental health, but it also explores the burden and weight of the immigrant narrative, how the stories of their grandparents and the struggles they had in coming to America can sometimes spark a sense of responsibility and, in the other, a sense of guilt.

While the film feels so far removed from our own experiences here in the Philippines, I got to see shades of these emotions bubbling over all my cousins and friends who are first generation immigrants to the United States, and even some in the second-generation. We may never have suffered the ranks of genocide the way that Jewish people have during World War II or the genocide that one of the characters in the film shared, as he was from Rwanda, but we Filipinos have also seen the horrors of war.

And this is the magic of Jesse Eisenberg’s script. The story is so rooted in the cousins – the anxious David (Jesse Eisenberg) and the charismatic but also destructive Benji (Kieran Culkin) – and their story and their connection to the holocaust but the way they interact with each other, the way that David is scared to call out Benji when he’s being rude or destructive and the way that Benji can’t help but be disappointed that his cousin did not grow up to be the person he thought he would be. These little dynamics of their relationship and the precision of Eisenberg and Culkin’s performances convey these nuances really remind us of our interactions with our family. We have siblings or cousins that are like this, and we tiptoe around them while others just bulldoze over us and it’s all out there for us to see in this lovely little film.

It’s wonderful to be in a dark, cold cinema and seeing these seemingly ordinary lives struggling through a life moment but seeing it on full screen. It’s so humanizing. This is the cinema that I miss. Sure, the blockbusters are fun. They are a feast for the eyes but as the studios release one big tentpole blockbuster after another, one sequel after the next, it all gets muddled and boring. But movies like ‘A Real Pain’ helps me get back to myself and to my own little issues and personal demons.

There’s no question as to why Culkin is nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the current award season rush, including winning the Golden Globe. It’s a bravura performance that truly encapsulates Benji’s issues. The film never openly states it but, from my experience, his manic followed by depressive and confrontational states is just representative of bi-polar disorder; as I’ve seen it in family members, friends, and even co-workers. Eisenberg has played this character before so we know he does it well but the rest of the cast – Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, Daniel Oreskes, and the ever-reliable Will Sharpe – help fill out this world and gives the two leads a space to really play out their character’s inner worlds.

I really want more movies like this to return to the cinemas rather than just immediately sending them over to streaming. These intimate; personal stories are elevated by putting them on the big screen. It reminds us of our humanity in the most surprising of ways.

My Rating:

A Real Pain is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.