A Real Pain
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Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
What critics thought
Jesse Eisenberg's second feature as writer-director drew near-universal enthusiasm, with critics singling out its tonal precision — the way it holds Holocaust grief and dry comedy in the same frame without letting either tip the other over. Kieran Culkin's performance as the mercurial, emotionally uncontainable Benji became the film's defining talking point, with many calling it one of the finest screen turns of the year.
“walks a line between obnoxiousness and delight; it's a performance both liberating and touched by a deeper, more inarticulate sadness”
Ty Burr·The Washington Post
“transparently readable, sometimes viscerally destabilizing”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“perfectly weighted between bleak and warm, poignant and irreverent”
Ed Potton·The Sunday Times
“balancing sardonic wit with piercing solemnity in a movie full of feeling, in which no emotion is unearned”
David Rooney·The Hollywood Reporter
Accolades
Parents guide
- Violence
- none
- Sex
- none
- Profanity
- severe
- Substances
- moderate
- Intensity
- mild
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Cast & Crew
Jesse EisenbergDirector
Jesse EisenbergDavid Kaplan
Kieran CulkinBenji Kaplan
Will SharpeJames
Jennifer GreyMarcia
Kurt EgyiawanEloge
Liza SadovyDiane
Daniel OreskesMark
Ellora TorchiaPriya
Olha BosovaFlight Attendant
Piotr CzarnieckiConductor
Michał DymekCinematographyA Real Pain
Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
What critics thought
Jesse Eisenberg's second feature as writer-director drew near-universal enthusiasm, with critics singling out its tonal precision — the way it holds Holocaust grief and dry comedy in the same frame without letting either tip the other over. Kieran Culkin's performance as the mercurial, emotionally uncontainable Benji became the film's defining talking point, with many calling it one of the finest screen turns of the year.
“walks a line between obnoxiousness and delight; it's a performance both liberating and touched by a deeper, more inarticulate sadness”
Ty Burr·The Washington Post
“transparently readable, sometimes viscerally destabilizing”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“perfectly weighted between bleak and warm, poignant and irreverent”
Ed Potton·The Sunday Times
“balancing sardonic wit with piercing solemnity in a movie full of feeling, in which no emotion is unearned”
David Rooney·The Hollywood Reporter
Accolades
Parents guide
- Violence
- none
- Sex
- none
- Profanity
- severe
- Substances
- moderate
- Intensity
- mild
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Cast & Crew
Jesse EisenbergDirectorJesse EisenbergDavid KaplanKieran CulkinBenji KaplanWill SharpeJamesJennifer GreyMarciaKurt EgyiawanElogeLiza SadovyDianeDaniel OreskesMarkEllora TorchiaPriyaOlha BosovaFlight AttendantPiotr CzarnieckiConductorMichał DymekCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy