'A joy to watch': Fabian Hamilton reviews 'A Real Pain'
Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg play cousins Benji and David Kaplan | Image by: FlixPix / Alamy Stock Photo
4 min read
The tale of two American cousins on a Jewish heritage tour in Poland, Jesse Eisenberg has delivered a film of great economy, skill and wit
David and Benji Kaplan are cousins, born in New York within days of each other, who have finally managed to arrange a trip to Poland together to discover where their family came from and to see their late, beloved grandmother’s original home. The trip is part of an organised Jewish heritage tour of Warsaw and Lublin with a number of other Americans – and a British tour guide.
The opening scenes of the film show Benji (Kieran Culkin) sitting blank-faced in an airport while his cousin David (Jesse Eisenberg) is rushing to get to the airport on time, calling every few minutes to say that he will be there very soon.
When the two meet, they clearly haven’t seen each other for a few months. My heart sank a little, fearing that the film would be full of the two young men talking over each other and making annoying jokes at each other’s expense. But to my relief the story quickly skips over the long flight to the hotel in Warsaw where they are sharing a room.
Kurt Egyiawan as Eloge | Image by: LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo
It’s clear from the start that Benji is a troubled character keen on expletives, whereas David is more conventional and less extrovert. The whole film revolves around the relationship between the two cousins and their interactions, as well as Benji’s attempts to relate to the others on the tour.
The title of the film is obviously a nod to Benji’s character, who really is very annoying and irritates many members of the tour party. Their fellow travellers have also come from the USA to find their family roots – apart from one man who, in a clever touch, is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and has converted to Judaism out of empathy with the Jewish experience of the Holocaust.
I can see why Kieran Culkin won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor... the film is a joy to watch
I expected there to be drama and tragedy given Benji’s often toxic behaviour but, in spite of being a real pain, the other tourists seem to like him – or at least to some have empathy for him. There are some very funny scenes, as well as some moving moments, such as the visit to Majdanek concentration camp in Lublin. This is delivered sensitively and without sentimentality, simply focusing on each of the tourists’ faces as they stare at the crematoria ovens in an otherwise deserted camp.
At the restaurant dinner afterwards, the group still doesn’t know what to make of Benji when he erupts into a diatribe of anger and grief at what he has seen and then leaves the table. In his absence, David tells the group that he hates his cousin but loves him; he can’t bear being with him but can’t live without him; he admires him and wants to be him. It’s a lovely scene, simple and touching, and we can really understand just how he must feel.
This is a relatively short film at 90 minutes, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg and made with great economy, skill and wit – as well as a complete absence of sentimentality.
I can see why Kieran Culkin won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and Eisenberg was nominated for Best Original Screenplay. The film is a joy to watch and I highly recommend it.
Fabian Hamilton is Labour MP for Leeds North East
A Real Pain
Written & directed by: Jesse Eisenberg
Broadcaster: General cinema release & available to rent online
