Well, here we are in mid-January already, which means it's surely time for a slightly indy-ish off-beat comedy-drama to come along surrounded by a glow of anticipatory awards-buzz. This year the slot is filled by Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain.

Eisenberg was a very familiar face for quite a few years, but rather less so since his turn as Lex Luthor in Batman vs Superman   – it seems a bit unfair that his career has taken such a severe knock off the back of one pretty bad movie, as nearly everyone else involved seems to have kept ploughing cheerfully forward regardless. But that, as they say, is show business.

The lazy person's description of Eisenberg might very well be that he's essentially the 21st century version of a young Woody Allen, certainly in terms of his screen persona (though without the fondness for some of the questionable jokes that occasionally pop up in fifty-year-old Allen movies). His appearance in a couple of relatively recent Allen films as, essentially, a proxy for the director probably only worked to cement this impression.

Whether it's deserved or not, it's not something that's likely to be erased by A Real Pain, in which Eisenberg plays David Kaplan, an uptight-to-the-point-of-neurotic New Yorker who is embarking on a heritage tour of Poland with his cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin). David and Benji are polar opposites – Benji is relaxed, outgoing, and charming, but also volatile and apparently self-absorbed.

Still, the holiday is a chance for the cousins to reconnect following the death of their grandmother, although it's a slightly unusual context for this – a tour of significant Jewish sites in Poland, including a visit to the extermination camp at Majdanek. Most of the people on the tour are also Jewish, including Rwandan convert Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan) and LA housewife Marcia (a non-dancing role for Jennifer Grey); leading the group is gentile guide James (Will Sharpe, one of those quietly busy people, who directed The Electrical Life of Louis Wain three years ago).

Well, it's not really my idea of a holiday per se, but no sane person would go up a glacier in a blizzard, either, I suppose. Off they all go on the tour, with Benji alternately charming everyone with his enthusiasm and love of life and then just as quickly alienating them with his bluntness, oversensitivity and thoughtlessness (at one point he criticises the tour for being too touristy). David finds himself in the role of having to manage his cousin and his erratic behaviour, never being quite sure as to which side of Benji's character is likely to be in the ascendant.

The result could have been a peculiar understated black comedy – given the backdrop to the story, the potential for some properly edgy jokes is always lurking, and some of them indeed materialise – but in the end this is a much more nuanced and thoughtful film. My understanding is that the framing narrative about the heritage tour, which is ultimately utterly respectful about the events of the Holocaust and its victims, is really just intended to be there as a counterpoint – historical trauma and pain putting the problems and anxieties of the two cousins into perspective. It certainly gives the film a very distinctive flavour and atmosphere, as does the Polish setting – it's not quite a holiday commercial depiction of the country, but it is positively and generously presented, with a soundtrack almost exclusively consisting of piano pieces by Chopin.

There has been some commentary on the manner in which A Real Pain has been offered to the various awards bodies for consideration – I think it has a good chance of picking up several more 'minor' gongs in categories like Original Screenplay and Supporting Actor, but this is partly due to what I can only describe as a gamey decision to designate Culkin as a supporting performer, even though he's in the majority of the scenes of the film and is central to its success. But on the other hand Eisenberg really is clearly playing the main character – the film shifts and switches in feel and tone much as Benji oscillates between charm and bad manners, and this achieves much of its effect because we see it from the perspective of a confused and frustrated David – there is some generosity in the script, too, giving Culkin all the big moments and best lines, and the opportunities to do eye-catching 'acting'. Eisenberg really gives a very fine and underplayed performance as someone who just isn't really that demonstrative.

I feel like there is some real wisdom in the depiction of the two main characters, which is really what the film is all about. I have to confess that my own sympathies were with David throughout, but that's just my own personality showing. Eisenberg's script deftly captures the way that extremely gifted people can be casual and seemingly almost indifferent about their own talents, and the eventual suggestion that everyone has something that other people might envy is also presented in a nicely understated way.

There is a lot to enjoy here, in terms of both comedy and drama – this feels like a very tasteful, well-brought-up film for the most part – it may be frequently profane and occasionally indulge in some quite dark humour, but you always get the sense this is being done carefully and with consideration. I would perhaps have liked to have seen a bit more about the other members of the tour, who are without exception well-written and played, but the film is obviously about the cousins and so it's understandable that they are the central figures – in one unexpected piece of publicity presumably aimed at UK audiences, Eisenberg revealed that at one point they were in discussions with Ncuti Gatwa about his playing Eloge ('come and see this film in which a prominent actor doesn't appear' is a curious pitch to potential viewers).

Nevertheless, this is a very good film, and a great achievement by Jesse Eisenberg in particular. It should certainly serve as his passport back to the warm and friendly places at the centre of the commercial film industry, and probably not do Kieran Culkin's career any harm either.

Awix

20.01.25 Front Page

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