Two Jewish cousins travel to Poland to take a tour in honour of their beloved grandmother who recently died.

A Real Pain is the sort of film that appears to be rather slight, but has hidden volumes. 

At surface level it is an odd couple comedy. David Kaplan, played by Jesse Eisenberg who also wrote and directed the film is uptight and reserved. Whilst Benji Kaplan (Kieran Culkin) is affable, charming and outgoing. Their differing personalities clash with each other and create awkwardly humorous moments. 

Scratch the surface and it is about family and heritage. David and Jesse love each other and have a close bond despite the distance that has grown between them as life got in the way. Their love for their grandmother is clear and her Polish heritage and their shared Jewish heritage is clearly important to them. Something reinforced by the relationships they create with the other Jewish members of their tour group. 

But deep down it is about pain. David keeps his anxiety and sadness locked up as tightly as he can. It bubbles through but he believes he needs to keep moving forward. Benji on the other hand frequently explodes, unable to keep his self loathing within. The title of the film is almost flippantly referring to Benji. He is “a real pain” when he explodes. But it also questions what is real pain? How can David and Benji ever feel that they are entitled to complain about their lot in life when they can barely fathom the suffering their grandmother endured to be able to help raise them? 

Eisenberg and Culkin are both superb. They have both proven they can play these archetypes before, but they deliver relatable and moving characters. The supporting cast add great value as well. Will Sharpe is fantastic as a hugely knowledgeable tour guide and the tour group made up of Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Daniel Oreskes and Liza Sadovy provide differing views of what this shared Jewish history means to them all. 

A Real Pain is a moving film that will make you laugh, cry and really think.