By Cindy Summer –
“A Real Pain” shares the road trip of two cousins born three weeks apart who travel to Poland after their grandmother passed away and left them money to travel to her homeland near Warsaw, Poland. These two cousins couldn’t be more opposite with lighthearted Benji (Kieran Culkin) who was outgoing, single, unemployed and always spoke his mind compared to Dave (Jesse Eisenberg) who was obsessive, always serious, had a great job and was married with a son.
They landed in Warsaw, Poland, where Benji picked up some weed that he had mailed to the hotel and that Dave was initially totally against until convinced by Benji to go up on the roof of the hotel where they wouldn’t get caught. This was the dynamic of their lives growing up where Benji was always getting into everything, especially trouble, while Dave was always striving to be perfect and do things right all the time.
The second day of the tour they took a train to Dworzec, Lublin, known as the Jewish Oxford, where the oldest tombstone in Poland can be found. Benji got triggered riding the train questioning the feeling of the Jews that were put on trains during the war. Dave fell asleep and true to form Benji just let him sleep through their stop where the others got off, so they had to catch a train heading back to meet the rest of the tour group.
Their grandmother told miracle stories regarding how she survived the war, survived the camps, made her way to New York where she wanted to design dresses. Unfortunately she couldn’t afford fashion school so she got stuck working as a secretary at a small commercial real estate company that she eventually took over. She always said she was grateful for her struggle and when she passed left funds for Benji and David to see some of what she shared first hand.
Benji was easy going but triggered easily, and frequently disappeared to be alone during mad fits on the trip. Dave shared with the group that Benji tried to overdose six months prior to the trip and they hadn’t seen each other in awhile. After dinner Benji came back to the room briefly and then left for the night. Dave spent the night up waiting for Benji who never came back that night, but instead stayed up talking with Marcia, another tour member he seemed to be growing close to.
The next morning the group visited Majdanek Concentration Camp and toured all the areas including where they kept the sorted clothes, the gas chambers and incinerators. Outside they witnessed the huge mounds of ash from those cremated at the camp. Benji was overwhelmed and cried quietly to himself on the train back to the hotel.
When they got back Benji and Dave separated from the group to stay and find their grandmother’s home while the group continued on. The next morning they went to visit the town where their grandmother grew up and actually found the place she lived in, but found it unremarkable. They decided to put a stone on her stoop like the tombstones to show she’s not forgotten, a Jewish tradition, but were asked to remove it. Dave took it back home and put it on his stoop to remind him of his grandmother’s home in Poland.
Jesse Eisenberg was not only a lead character, but was also the screenwriter, producer, and director on the film which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. “A Real Pain” also received two nominations at the Academy Awards, four at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards (including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy), and three Critics’ Choice Awards. Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor at the 82nd Golden Globes.
