Arts & Culture

A Real Pain
Where: In theatres
What: Movie, 90 mins.
When: Now
Genre: Drama
Rating: NNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Kieran Culkin’s manic performance as Benji Kaplan, who is both hilarious and haunted

ACTOR JESSE EISENBERG writes, directs and co-stars in A Real Pain a small, character-driven film that delivers in a big way.

Aided by a masterful performance by Kieran Culkin as Benji Kaplan, one of two cousins who come together to make a pilgrimage to Poland in honour of their recently deceased grandmother and seek to understand her roots as a European Jew who survived the Second World War.

And, yes, it manages to be funny a lot of the time too.

David Kaplan (Eisenberg) is the steady one, the guy who gets to the airport hours ahead of time and makes a dozen calls to Benji from the cab confirming details of their trip. Benji is the guy who never picks up and who you just hope makes it to the plane. And he always does — somehow.

This mismatched but loving pair is dropped into a package tour filled with strong, credible characters: Jews, including a recent convert, each with their own reasons for the, in some ways, challenging trip that includes a visit to a concentration camp. Jennifer Grey is quietly majestic as Marcia, the divorcee who has some sparks with Benji. A clever device sees all the characters introduce themselves to each other — and the audience — when they first meet up at the beginning of the trip. Benji quickly becomes a favourite among the travellers for his quick wit and go-for-it attitude. Except when he freaks out with survivor guilt and processes other triggers that the visit to Poland ignites.

David is left to be frustrated by his cousin’s erratic behaviour but also envious of the way he can light up a room and instantly draw people to himself. David feels invisible and, at times, resentful of his irresponsible cousin’s “no consequences” way of living and engaging with strangers.

Eisenberg expertly mines the rich “odd couple” opportunities for humour with this mismatched pair travelling and rooming together in Europe. David’s silent suffering as Benji steamrolls through his life, his toiletries and the bathroom are communicated only with sighs and silent rumination — and it’s perfect.

Culkin’s Beni is never just a cliché or cartoon of excess but a believable, over-hyped and haunted soul that we join David to root for and be annoyed with.

There’s no need or reason for sensationalizing genocide, and Eisenberg powerfully yet often subtlety addresses the enormity of the tragedy without ever exploiting it. An especially powerful scene, when the travellers tour a concentration camp communicates the horror of the place by showing the individual reactions of the group instead of what they are seeing.

Benji relentlessly challenges his fellow tourists for their reaction to and reasons for being on the tour. He even takes on the well intentioned, non-Jewish tour guide, James, smartly and subtly played by Will Sharpe.

A Real Pain is a quiet film but never dull; it’s gorgeously shot and not afraid to linger on a well-framed scene — with Benji always available to re-energize the action. Great, well-acted characters, not limited to the excellent leads, make this a massively satisfying “small” film.