{"id":21711,"date":"2024-02-02T17:11:48","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T22:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21711"},"modified":"2024-02-02T17:11:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T22:11:48","slug":"sundance-review-a-real-pain-jesse-eisenbergs-look-at-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21711","title":{"rendered":"Sundance Review \/ A Real Pain: Jesse Eisenberg’s Look at History"},"content":{"rendered":"

People want to know about where they come from, especially if all they know about it comes from stories and relayed memories. In his second time directing, Jesse Eisenberg presents a look at the kind of trip that many descendants of Holocaust survivors make, traveling to a European country from which their families were deported by the Nazis. While firmly rooted in the present and the relationship between two cousins mourning their late grandmother, A Real Pain<\/em><\/strong> effectively captures the complicated intergenerational trauma that shapes the ways people engage with their own privileges and comfort that they themselves have not worked to earn.<\/span><\/p>\n

On his way to the airport, David (Eisenberg) calls Benji (Kieran Culkin) to remind him to leave time for traffic and other delays. When he arrives, David is surprised to find that Benji has been there for hours, excited that the airport opens early since it gave him a chance to meet the \u201ccraziest people.\u201d This is the dynamic that persists throughout their organized tour in Poland, with the gregarious Benji making friends left and right while David shyly urges Benji to behave more appropriately, like when he stages a group photo by statues of soldiers that David deems insensitive. While David clearly has social anxiety, Benji is also prone to outbursts, like when he can\u2019t stand the idea of them being in first class on a train traveling the same tracks that led his relatives to a concentration camp, or when the tour guide, James (Will Sharpe), continues offering interesting facts and statistics while they\u2019re visiting a cemetery.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Jesse Eisenberg, director of A Real Pain, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

David and Benji truly do capture the mixed emotions that American-born descendants of Holocaust survivors often express, with their interest most sparked by relationships with grandparents who would frequently tell them about how it was for them at their age. Eisenberg drew on his own family history for his script, which chooses conversation and debate over stark visual images, focusing on the impact of this trip and its sights on the cousins rather than actually showing much of what they see. It\u2019s an interesting approach, particularly because everyone on the trip sees it a different way, including a genocide survivor from Rwanda who later converted to Judaism.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is Eisenberg\u2019s second time directing and his second time launching that project at Sundance, following 2022\u2019s virtual debut of When You Finish Saving the World<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. This time, he appears in the film, though he saves the much showier role for Culkin. His performance is still resonant, particularly when he finally summons the energy to confront Benji about his overly cavalier attitude. Culkin, fresh off an awards sweep for the final season of Succession<\/em><\/strong>, distinguished this role from that theoretical career highlight by his twisting of Roman Roy\u2019s manic energy into something friendly and positive. That it masks a deep insecurity shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise, but Culkin unfurls the character beautifully.<\/span><\/p>\n

As with Eisenberg\u2019s first film, this story is laced with humor. Holocaust sites in Poland shouldn\u2019t necessarily be the setting for jokes, but it reflects how people act when they\u2019re uncomfortable and also a need to enjoy life. Sharpe delivers one of the film\u2019s most potent reflections, \u201cthis will be a tour about pain but also one that celebrates the most resilient people,\u201d as James reacts to the dynamic of the group and, in one memorable scene, coolly takes unsolicited feedback from an angry Benji. This is a film about memory that isn\u2019t specific to its characters and should invite warm reactions from audiences, including Searchlight Pictures, which purchased the film for $10 million last week. Eisenberg has succeeded with a film that feels deeply personal and intimate yet carries a universal accessibility for all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/b><\/p>\n

Check out more of Abe Friedtanzer\u2019s articles<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Real Pain <\/i><\/b>makes its world premiere in the <\/span>U.S. Dramatic Competition<\/span><\/a> at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and has been acquired by Searchlight Pictures.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People want to know about where they come from, especially if all they know about it comes from stories and relayed memories. In his second time directing, Jesse Eisenberg presents a look at the kind of trip that many descendants of Holocaust survivors make, traveling to a European country from which their families were deported…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":21713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[19318,8334,5879,2255,8337,929,643,20022,2235,4150],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSundance Review \/ A Real Pain: Jesse Eisenberg's Look at History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jesse Eisenberg directs his second feature, A Real Pain, premiering at Sundance, and starring Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as cousins.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21711\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sundance Review \/ A Real Pain: Jesse Eisenberg's Look at History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jesse Eisenberg directs his second feature, A Real Pain, premiering at Sundance, and starring Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as cousins.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21711\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cinema Daily US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-02T22:11:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/A_Real_Pain-Still1-KieranCulkin_JesseEisenberg.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Abe Friedtanzer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/movieswithabe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Abe Friedtanzer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21711\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21711\",\"name\":\"Sundance Review \/ A Real Pain: Jesse Eisenberg's Look at History\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21711#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21711#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/A_Real_Pain-Still1-KieranCulkin_JesseEisenberg.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-02T22:11:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-02T22:11:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6d4d1be5055fa0a21c6be5ee2b54ae10\"},\"description\":\"Jesse Eisenberg directs his second feature, A Real Pain, premiering at Sundance, and starring Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as cousins.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21711#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21711\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=21711#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/A_Real_Pain-Still1-KieranCulkin_JesseEisenberg.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/A_Real_Pain-Still1-KieranCulkin_JesseEisenberg.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1440,\"caption\":\"Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg appear in A Real Pain by Jesse Eisenberg, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. 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