Synopsis: Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

A Real Pain was one of my most anticipated films of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and for good reason. Jesse Eisenberg returns after his directorial debut, When You Finish Saving The World, with a much more meditative, simple and mature film. Eisenberg also stars and is accompanied by recent Emmy winner Kieran Culkin as his cousin. The biggest word I can use to describe this film is mature. You can tell that Eisenberg has honed his craft both with the pen and behind the camera. We will talk about all of that more in a little bit, but this was by far one of the best films of the fest in my opinion. 

The first thing that I believe everyone is going to talk about here is the brilliant performances. Jesse Eisenberg is outstanding here. A very reserved effort that has the explosive moments when it matters. This is a story about two highly flawed cousins who are trying to deal with their emotions in very different ways. They are a legitimate yin-yang to each other. The name of the day though is Kieran Culkin. He is incredible, bringing forth a performance that is so layered and full of raw emotion. The supporting cast gets the job done, but that doesn’t matter because of leading duo is dynamic enough to carry the whole film.  

As I mentioned earlier, this is a much more mature film from Jesse Eisenberg in terms of both writing and directing. There is a sense of confidence throughout the film that I didn’t feel with his debut. Much more emotionally resonate with a really solid examination of grief, family and how we all deal with emotions differently. The direction isn’t flashy, but it’s delicate enough to help pack that emotional punch. Eisenberg has grown into his own as both a writer and director with this film. 

FINAL: A Real Pain is a fantastic look at grief, mental health and how each person deals with loss differently. Eisenberg is really good, but Culkin’s performance is truly special. The direction and writing from Eisenberg has taken a huge step up from his first effort and everything works together to make one of the more emotional performances of the fest. This will go down as one of my favorite films of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and I highly recommend everyone check out this film whenever it comes out.  

Point Breakdown:

15 for Writing: 13

15 for Performances: 13

10 for Entertainment: 8

10 for Direction: 8

10 for Emotions: 9

5 for Cinematography: 5

5 for Score: 4

5 for Pacing: 5

15 for Technical: 12

5 for Rewatchability: 4

5 for Automatic: 5

A Real Pain: 86/100

Jack Lautaret is a film critic, host of the Jack Lautaret YouTube channel and writer for Music City Drive-In. He is a member of the Online Film and Television Association. Twitter: @JackLautaret