A Real Pain: Movie Review

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Jennifer Grey, Will Sharpe

Director: Jesse Eisenberg

A Real Pain may have its roots in a personal story from Jesse Eisenberg but it's anchored by a larger-than-life performance from succession Kieran Culkin.

The pair play David and Benji (Eisenberg and Culkin respectively) brothers whose life circumstances and distance have driven apart. Coming back together for a pilgrimage to Poland after their grandmother's death, they find their yin and yang relationship sorely tested after the initial joy of the reunion wears off.

Booked in as part of a group tensions are further exacerbated by others swooping in and out of their orbit as they close in on their emotional destination.

What starts off with the promise of an Odd couple trip - from Eisenberg's neurotic worrying on the way to the airport ' soon acquiesces into something a little more dry and whimsical.

Blessed with unexpected moments of humour and edges of grounded reality, A Real Pain gets to the nub of fraternal relationships, both the good and the bad. Along with an eye for the local scenery and the heft of a concentration camp, Eisenberg manages restraint over mawkishness nicely, treading a fine line but never once wobbling over.

While Culkin has the more obvious role as the seemingly cocksure overcompensator of the two, there's much to be said for Eisenberg's subtle touches that provide the right balance.

With a depth that only reveals itself seemingly by accident there's a poignancy in a real pain that's not quite enough to propel it into classic status, but which does enough to make you rethink a lot of what transpires early on.

A thoughtful and pensive piece, carefully constructed, A Real Pain shows distinct promise from Eisenberg.