A Real Pain - Reviews

...disparate relatives bring their resentments and their humor as they tour Poland.

Kieran Culkin proves why he was Succession’s MVP in Jesse Eisenberg’s latest.

Kieran Culkin is heartbreaking and hilarious in Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain.

Jesse Eisenberg’s devastating tragicomedy is a must see.

Jesse Eisenberg’s empathetic comedy about facing the abyss.

While Benji and David are versions of characters we've seen Culkin and Eiseneberg play before, it's hard to imagine anyone else inhabiting the two characters better.

...a brilliant portrayal of shifting family dynamics in all its complicated, relatable messiness.

...an amusing and compelling inquiry into human pain and suffering.

...a combustion of performance styles: Culkin and Eisenberg play extremely to their types.

...a whip-sharp comedy driven by the rattling verbal sparring between uptight, neurotic David (Eisenberg) and his outgoing, unpredictable cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin).

...an endearing dramedy written and directed by Eisenberg.

It’s a powerful feeling to witness art that reminds us that all aspects of our existence are valuable, especially our pain.

At times wryly funny, in other moments profoundly sad, it’s a competent but occasionally sedate dramedy that demonstrates Eisenberg’s willingness to buck narrative convention and leave his characters still questing for deeper meaning.

Jesse Eisenberg's sophomore film finds balance between its sensitive Holocaust tour narrative and odd-couple comedy with Kieran Culkin.