Marketing for the new comedy-drama filmA Real Painhas focused heavily onKieran Culkin’s performance, which is understandable, as said performance is earning the actora considerable amount of Oscar buzz, just months after he won an Emmy for his work inSuccession. That being said, Culkin’s co-star,Jesse Eisenberg,who also wrote, produced, and directed the film, is equally deserving of praise for his acting. Eisenberg’s David is a quieter, more subtle character than Culkin’s unique Benji, but the former’s story arc is just as well-developed, if not more so, than his onscreen cousin’s, and itallows Eisenberg to deliver a powerful performancethat serves as a wonderful continuation and encapsulation of the characters he’s played throughout his career.
Jesse Eisenberg’s David is the Quiet Heart of ‘A Real Pain’
A Real Painfollows the cousins as they embark on a Holocaust tour of Polandin memory of their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who recently passed away. While the pair, who were very close as children, areexcited by the opportunity to reconnect,friction also arises between them due to their very different lifestyles. Fastidious David, who arranged the trip, is an average guy content working in a digital advertising job and cutely enamored with his wife and young children. Benji is a modern hippy, smoking weed and engaging in childish antics one minute andstriking up surprisingly insightful dialogueswith the other members of the tour group the next. As the journey continues,the pair work through the resulting tensionwhile also reaffirming their love for each other.
The film definitely revolves more around Benji, who was especially close with the grandmother and is consequentlyhauntedby her passing, (with it eventually being revealed that he nearly died of an overdose shortly after her death), but David is also a very well-rounded character with a compelling story of his own. but David is also a very well-rounded characterwith a compelling story of his own.Like many of Eisenberg’s characters, from films as disparate asZombielandandThe Social Network, David has qualities that could stereotypically be dubbed “nerdy”, but the film is clever and compassionate enough to realize this isn’t actually a bad thing and gives him additional depth. As many introverted people would be,David is initially hesitant to engage with the other group members,and envious of the confidence with which Benji does so. But he is also more understanding of social cues and customs than his cousin and often winds up subtlyapologizing for Benji’s more off-putting moments,while also explaining the emotional pain which is causing them.
What are your early predictions for next year’s Oscars?
It’s hard to believe we’re nearing the end of the year. Most of the big awards contenders have already screened at various film festivals, outside of a few exceptions. I’ve been working on my predictions list for months now through various apps and websites (as I do every year). But this year seems like a far tougher race to predict than the last handful of years. Curious what everyone else is predicting. Here are my predictions for some of the major categories.
Best Picture:
- Anora
2. Emilia Pérez
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Conclave
A Real Pain
A Complete Unknown
Sing Sing
Blitz
Best Director:
Brady Corbet - The Brutalist
Sean Baker - Anora
Jacques Aduiard - Emilia Pérez
Denis Villeneuve - Dune: Part Two
RaMell Ross - Nickel Boys
Best Actress:
- Mikey Madison - Anora
2. Karla Sofía Gascón - Emilia Pérez
Angelina Jolie - Maria
Saoirse Ronan - The Outrun
Nicole Kidman - Babygirl
Best Actor:
- Adr
One of the film’s highlights isa lengthy monologue David delivers after Benji causes a sceneand leaves while the group is having dinner. As the camera slowly pushes in on his face, David explains how he simultaneously resents Benji and wants to be more like him,before telling the group of the overdose,tearfully explaining his own heartbroken confusion at why his beloved cousin would do something like that to himself.Eisenberg shines in this scene, powerfully conveying the varied, conflicting emotions David feels, before continuing to excel in later scenes in which the character directly tells Benji how worried he is about him.
David Grows Significantly Throughout ‘A Real Pain’
In addition to opening up more directly about his concern for Benji,David’s arc also shows him learning to blend his biological family with the one he has built for himself. The cousins leave the tour early to visit their grandmother’s old house and hometown. Upon arriving at the former, they attempt to leave stones on the front porch in a modified versionof the Jewish custom of doing so at someone’s grave site.However,they are forbidden to do soby a local neighbor, who is concerned the stones would cause the current elderly tenant of the house to fall.
After the pair return to the United States, it’s revealed thatDavid kept his stone, which he places in his family’s apartment.He also invites Benji to come over for dinner when they land, but Benji declines, choosing instead to hang out at the airport, where he says one can meet very interesting people. While the resulting ambiguity over whether the trip really allowed Benji tomake much progress healing or not is sadly realistic,it also results in David having the more plainly satisfying story, as it’s clear that he is taking the lessons he learned on the trip to heart and making some positive changes to his life as a result.
A Real Painis in select theaters now across the U.S.
A Real Pain
Two cousins travel to Poland after their grandmother’s death to see where they came from and end up joining a Holocaust tour.
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