Sorry Kieran, Jesse Eisenberg is the Best Part of 'A Real Pain'

Marketing for the new comedy-drama film A Real Pain has focused heavily on Kieran Culkin’s performance, which is understandable, as said performance is earning the actor a considerable amount of Oscar buzz, just months after he won an Emmy for his work in Succession. 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 it allows Eisenberg to deliver a powerful performance that 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 Pain follows the cousins as they embark on a Holocaust tour of Poland in memory of their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who recently passed away. While the pair, who were very close as children, are excited 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 and striking up surprisingly insightful dialogues with the other members of the tour group the next. As the journey continues, the pair work through the resulting tension while also reaffirming their love for each other.

The film definitely revolves more around Benji, who was especially close with the grandmother and is consequently haunted by her passing, but David is also a very well-rounded character with a compelling story of his own. Like many of Eisenberg’s characters, from films as disparate as Zombieland and The 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 subtly apologizing for Benji’s more off-putting moments, while also explaining the emotional pain which is causing them.

One of the film’s highlights is a lengthy monologue David delivers after Benji causes a scene and 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 version of the Jewish custom of doing so at someone’s grave site. However, they are forbidden to do so by 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 that David 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 to make 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 Pain is in select theaters now across the U.S.

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