44/18
David Kaplan: Yeah
Line of Events
Mismatched cousins reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. s real-life ancestors settled in diaspora.. Benji Kaplan: We stay moving, we stay light, we stay agile. Benji Kaplan: The conductor’s gonna come through, taking tickets, we tell him we’re going to the bathroom. David Kaplan: Bathroom stragglers.
Benji Kaplan: Yeah
David Kaplan: Sorry, we’re the stragglers? By the time he gets to the front, the train is going to be in the station and we’re home free. David Kaplan: This is so fucking stupid. Tickets are probably like twelve bucks. Benji Kaplan: It’s the principle of the thing. We shouldn’t have to pay for train tickets in Poland.
This is our country
David Kaplan: No, it’s not, it was our country. They kicked us out ‘cause they thought we were cheap.. Featured in CBS News Sunday Morning: Episode #46.44 (2024). (Watched at a preview in Bristol as part of the London Film Festival) I had high hopes for "A Real Pain" but despite a handful of funny moments and emotional speeches there are simply far too many areas where it misses the mark. The biggest positive is Jesse Eisenberg himself. The writer/director anchors the film as awkward-yet-successful New Yorker David, who invites his cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin) on a trip to Poland to pay respect to their grandmother and reflect on their personal struggles.
But Culkin is simply annoying
Eisenberg is believable and sympathetic, and is at the heart of the best scenes. It is an energetic performance, no doubt about it, but his volatility and inability to read a situation means that he is the kind of person you would try to get away from within minutes of meeting them. Will Sharpe is also very weak as the tour guide, putting on an effete Yorkshire accent for comedy effect – perhaps American ears may not be so bothered by it but these British ears were very disappointed. The other cast members have smaller roles but Jennifer Gray (yes, THE Jennifer Grey) and Kurt Egyiawan stand out, adding authenticity to their characters sense that the scenes were improvised and workshopped as they went along. Situations develop, or are implied to have developed, without any obvious cause or resolution. For a drama to succeed – and at heart, this is a drama – there needs to be a tautness to the script and story development that "A Real Pain" lacks.
A missed opportunity
Any momentum that builds up slips away easily – I was looking at my watch after half an hour, and the film feels long even though it runs for less than 90 minutes tourist board – don’t get me wrong, it made me want to visit, I just don't think that is the role of a feature film. "A Real Pain" hints at having something important to say about grief, but it never finds the right words.