London Film Festival 2024

Directed by: Jesse Eisenberg
Written by: Jesse Eisenberg
Run Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

It’s fairly common for actors to eventually branch out into writing and directing, but it’s a transition that doesn’t always go smoothly. Jesse Eisenberg’s debut feature When You Finish Saving The World (2022) was no disaster, but its reception was decidedly lukewarm. However with his sophomore feature, A Real Pain garnering a lot of praise from festival goers since its premiere at Sundance, the actor-turned-director appears to have managed better the second time around. 

The comedy-drama stars Eisenberg and Succession standout Kieran Culkin as David and Benji Kaplan, two Jewish cousins who travel to Poland to commemorate their late grandmother who emigrated to the USA during WWII. Becoming more distant in their adult lives after being close growing up, the two men reconnect and confront their tensions on a historical tour of the city of Warsaw. 

This premise sets up Eisenberg’s screenplay well, with the writer-director delivering a script that’s equal parts comedic and heartfelt, and elevated even further by its lead performances – it’s quite possibly Eisenberg’s best role since his Oscar-nominated turn in The Social Network (2010). His character comes across as rather reserved and seems like he has his life together. However, as the film progresses, there is more to learn. One second-act monologue from his character is particularly heartbreaking, revealing not just more about David himself, but also his relationship with Benji.

So while Eisenberg is more unassuming, his co-star Culkin is an absolute scene-stealer. He plays his character as an emotionally lost, but uniquely charming individual, providing many of the film’s best moments of awkward humour. At times, he can border on the side of irritating as a man lacking a filter or the ability to read situations, but by the end the film provides enough justification as to why the character is this way. 

The two leads are developed enough with a good underlying layer of tension between their very different personalities and contrasting lives. However, there is more potential to explore their characters and make them feel more raw; perhaps with a longer running time (the film is only a brisk 90 minutes) this could have been realised. As by the time the cousins’ trip comes to an end, the characters don’t seem to have developed all that much aside from a slightly deeper level of understanding towards one another. 

Elsewhere a great supporting cast keeps the film engaging. White Lotus star Will Sharpe is an awkward but well meaning Yorkshire tour guide, Kurt Egyiawan is a recent Jewish convert with a kind heart, and Dirty Dancing’s Baby herself, Jennifer Grey, is a tourist hoping to have her very own Eat Pray Love (2010) experience. 

When it comes to the technical aspects of A Real Pain, the cinematography by Michał Dymek is gorgeous. He allows the audience to take in all the sights of Warsaw while also keeping things intimate when they need to be. An array of classical piano pieces are used as the film’s score, such as Frederick Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat Major in the film’s opening sequence. And while the use of music does cement the film’s tone at the start of the film, sadly it becomes more of a non-presence as the film arrives at its rather familiar conclusion. 

So while A Real Pain, and its predictable sequence of events, may not break any new ground when it comes to films about family relationships, it’s still a humorous and touching comedy-drama that shows the potential of Jesse Eisenberg as a writer-director. With the artistic growth between his first and second feature, here’s hoping he gets the chance to build on this promise with a third.

Star Rating: ★ ★ ★