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A Real Pain follows mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they reunite for a tour through Poland to honour their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
Nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Kieran Culkin) at the 2025 Academy Awards.
The Garden Cinema View:
For better or for worse, Jesse Eisenberg resurrects a kind of Noughties indie sensibility for a very personal work that is both funnier than its heavy premise, and strives for meaning beyond the broadly drawn comic characters. The loose tone and breezy pace make A Real Pain a very watchable film. Whether the themes of historical atrocity and personal suffering can ever truly gel is another question.
Cast:
Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey